MARK POPE: Consider Causes of Groupthink [OPINION]

Consider Causes of Groupthink

 We are all, to some degree, guilty of Groupthink, which is a malady most commonly seen in politics.  Think about it:  there are varying degrees of conservatism and far fewer degrees of liberalism.  Conservative Groupthink used to mean limited government, less government spending, individual responsibility, and helping those who help themselves.  Now, with “conservatives” falling into numerous categories – moderates, hard-liners, and of course RINOS – Groupthink is virtually nonexistent in the GOP.

Liberals, however, tow the party line:  a Big government with free healthcare, out-of-control government spending, and government assistance for all, even able-bodied Americans and illegal immigrants who game the system.  Liberals also stick together in espousing their “compassionate government,” while denouncing and vilifying those who challenge their policies.

Now let’s examine the political complexion of the general public.  There are those on the hard right, or “true conservatives,” a dying breed.  There are those on the hard left, or “true liberals.”  And then there’s the remainder of the populace who fall somewhere in between the hard left and right.  We’ll call these folks the “apoliticals.”  The hard left and right are loathed to change their views.  Only the apoliticals are likely to change their views.

Then there’s the influence of what the public hears about politics, mostly from an extremely biased, like-minded media behemoth.  The liberal media relentlessly promotes the views and policies of the far left with their partisan political reporting.  What about the liberal bias on university campuses throughout the U.S.  Our children are being indoctrinated, to a large degree, with one-sided liberal thinking. Yes, there are still conservative professors on college campuses, but they are in the minority.  Some readers are now indignantly asking, “what about Fox News?”

Fox News Channel is biased with a conservative bent on all of their commentary/analysis shows.  Fox also has numerous liberal guests on their opinion and hard news programs; they are called “Fox contributors.”  How many conservative contributors does MSNBC employ, and how often are the conservatives trotted out?  Not very often.  The viewer must distinguish between a program which is opinion-driven and focused on analysis, as compared with a hard-news program, which is focused on the impartial facts of the story while also objectively providing both sides of the story.

It would be hard for a regular viewer of television news, who is also intellectually honest, to deny that Fox News does indeed provide the most “fair and balanced” hard news.  If a news organization has a left- or right-bent, they should admit it, and confine their biased views to commentary only.  Left- or right-journalism should not exist in hard news coverage; it should be exclusively reserved for commentary and analysis.  Unfortunately, impartial, objective hard-news journalism is going the way of the dinosaur.

So when considering the influences which impact Groupthink in our country, the odds are overwhelmingly weighted toward the liberal side:  the liberal media, leftist politicians, liberal professors, and liberal activists push their thinking and policies hard.  They march in lockstep.  So the left dominates political discourse in America today, and casual observers (the “apoliticals”) often times swallow the rhetoric and propaganda hook, line, and sinker.

Finally, the left is oh so adept at setting up their policies as “good,” while simultaneously portraying their conservative opponents’ policies as “evil.”  Due to the shrinking numbers of true conservatives, and the fact that nobody wants to be labeled a racist for opposing radical groups such as Black Lives Matter, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and ANTIFA, the Groupthink of the left dominates our culture.

Hope and pray that the pendulum swings back the other way soon.  Groupthink is slowly destroying the fabric of our great country.

-Mark Pope