The Road to Objectivity Part 1

My ultimate goal is to be objective.

People see things with a bias, me included, but at some point in my life I hope that I can reach the point where I can view things with an objective eye.

Growing up with a Democrat Father and a Republican Mother I was torn as to which direction to take because I could see the good things on both sides. It wasn't until many years later that I realized politicians are politicians regardless of the side they take. The word politician for me conjures other words like liar, money grubber, corrupter. There is no doubt in my mind that most politicians have one priority, themselves.

I have been a registered Republican since I was 18 and some of my friends would say I am conservative, others would say that I am liberal. If the fact that I enjoy watching Fox News over CNN makes me a conservative then so be it. If listening to Howard Stern every morning makes me a liberal then I guess you got me. I even enjoy an episode of Oprah now and then.

Now that George W Bush has been inaugurated to a second term the press is full of pictures and stories of protestors who burn flags and display signs against the president and the war. It is clear that there are a lot of people who are not fond of this president and I am not his biggest fan either, but do these people really know what they speak of?

Yesterday I spoke of the Indonesian people as a microcosm of people overseas that may have an inaccurate view of what the US War on Terror is all about. I stated that our opinions are shaped by the media around us and that is true of Americans too. So much of what the media reports is negative and especially in relation to the war in Iraq. The only positive mention I saw today was that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi confirmed that one of his top lieutenants was killed when Coalition Forces took back Fallujah. Got em!

There is no doubt that the shocking stories sell newspapers. I have recently started reading other blogs to get more information regarding the war. I came across this interesting article written by a Lieutenant Colonel stationed in Iraq.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/01/aiding_and_abbe.html

This guy has an interesting perspective and provides insight you will not find in the national news. I provide this only as a service to my readers not a means of slanting then to a particular direction.