As a functional obsessive-compulsive, I’m never happier than at year’s end when I get to make lists. Herewith, my picks for the most important stories of 2017:
This year my list is short: “Fake News” — from which all cursings flow.
Not only has the president’s frequent “fake news” defense against any story he dislikes helped codify the idea that the media, especially CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post, seek only to misinform, but this strategic deception has created a volunteer class of the arrogantly ignorant.
While such consistent dishonesty is annoying, my greater concern is for the future of the republic. The health of our democratic system of government relies at least somewhat upon a reasonably well-informed citizenry. When truth is relative, facts are fungible and the loudest voice wins the day, why, anyone really can become president.
How do journalists combat the rallying cry of the president himself? It’s impossible to argue with a fool or a liar. It is also difficult to convince people of one’s earnestness or commitment to standards if they fundamentally don’t care. In exasperation, one can be tempted to say such things as “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” which happens to be the rather self-regarding slogan emblazoned on the Post’s masthead — and also happens to be true.