Analysis and Opinion

By Joe America

Morality is not negotiable. It's the foundation for every decision we make.

Well, yes, moral systems can vary, for example, communist versus capitalist or Christian vs Zoroastrian. But for a group of peoples, like nations or groups of them, morality is the rock of good behavior and right decisions.

The US and Philippines are similar. The moral system is "western", Christian-based, diverse and open, stressing honesty, equality, and fairness under laws. It emphasizes education and knowledge and always strives for self-improvement.

Social interactions are robust and sometimes tense. Mainstream media play the role of information-intermediaries between diverse groups and government, an important role that keeps both nations free and open. Mainstream media have earned the title "Fourth Estate" as the informal fourth branch of government, performing a vital check and balance function.

Journalism ethics traditionally demand that media report facts and keep opinions clearly labeled and separate from news reporting. But since the greater openness and more robust advocacies of the internet era, this has broken down and a lot of news has taken on a slant.

Indeed, I'd argue that mainstream media have totally lost their bearings. Facts are so distorted by argument that they have become lost. Advocacy has become so prominent that morality has become lost. There is no foundation of "right" behavior left as media portray issues as being one side against another.

So it becomes Democrats vs Republicans in the US, not decency vs indecency. As if Trump's lying were a legitimate "side" to an argument.

Or as if Duterte's killings were a legitimate side, opposing human rights.

No. No. No. No. Decency and human rights are not sides of an argument. They are the foundations of good and right decisions, the moral basis for harmony and understanding. They are non-negotiable.

Mainstream media today are allowing themselves to be led by the nose by powerful advocacies into PROMOTING the undermining of decency and human rights. They are legitimizing the values that are sure to tear down harmony and understanding. Lying by government officials is wrong. Killing citizens outside due process is wrong. They are not sides of an argument.

Media need to re-center their ethics and report on facts and moral rules, not abandon them as if our nations were nothing better than packs of fighting jackals. If they fail to place facts within a moral framework, democracy will most assuredly break down. Indeed, on the current path, journalists will soon no longer be free to report. They'll be propaganda vendors.

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Photo from Council on Foreign Relations.