Odd Man Out
The so-called Media of Mass Deception (MMD) negatively affect the core values of the American people through a variety of savvy tactics. We've already reviewed "The Name Game," "The Blitz," "Say What?" and "That's Un-American!" If you were ever the last person to be picked for an elementary school game of kickball, you already understand the next tactic—Odd Man Out.
The MMD use this approach to make the viewer or listener feel that his or her traditional values are isolated and idiosyncratic. We have been blitzed with so many half-truths and outright distortions that we start to believe we are all alone in our biblical worldview. We perceive ourselves as a tiny minority of the population; thus we tend to shy away because we don't want to rock the proverbial boat.
Bernard Goldberg, a member of the elite media for more than 25 years, commented on this disconnect between the American people and the MMD: "They're so out of touch on so many values with the American people. You see, the reason I think the media elites are corrupt isn't because they lie and make up stories. It's because they have a set of values . . . [that are] a different set of values than that of Middle America. That's why it's corrupt. They have one set of values. Middle America, by and large, has another set of values, and the media elites [don't] respect that other set of values as much as they should."
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Watch any amount of prime-time TV, and you will see a set of values espoused as fact: homosexuality as normal and accepted, evolution as science, marriage as disposable, and promiscuous sex as without consequence. If we accept that what we see on TV really does represent America, we can understand why holding to biblical values can make us feel that we are outdated, judgmental, and obtuse.
There are two important points to remember. First, surveys continue to show that the majority of Middle America really does hold to traditional values, regardless of what the MMD promote. Second, even if you are the last man or woman holding to biblical values, stand strong with love, compassion, and candor. We are called to express the love and truth of Christ even if doing so makes us feel like the odd man out. Ultimately, Christ understands that better than we ever could, having cried out, "Father, why have You forsaken me?"
