Letter from Dan Downing
Bishop letter July 03 – August 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Dear Editors,
It seems to me that there is a certain irony regarding two items appearing in the July, 2003 issue. One, Martha Quillen’s Letter from the Editors titled The Persistent Power of Myth, explores our tendency to view things not as they are, but as we are. The other, a letter to the editor by Dan Bishop of Saguache, is a perfect illustration of that concept.
Mr. Bishop believes that, as a “thoughtful, intelligent citizen” his way of obtaining the news via the internet is superior to getting it from the mainstream American media. I’m pretty sure that there is some truth to that, although I think anyone who can make the effort required to get all of their news from the internet probably has far too much time on their hands.
But what really struck me about Mr. Bishop’s letter were references to the mainstream media such as this: “Once again the U.S. mainstream media, in full support of the president’s agenda, have refused to keep the American public informed.” Now if one were to listen to someone like Rush Limbaugh, one might just hear the exact same thing about the American media, only from a slightly different political perspective. But I doubt that Mr. Bishop would take kindly to being put in the same pot as Mr. Limbaugh. Martha was right, read them all, but don’t cut out the nightly news……..
As for me, I know that my take on things is tainted by my mythology just as Martha stated in her article. My dad is probably responsible for my skeptical, some might say cynical, view of the world. He told me this at an early age: “Son, don’t believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see.”
Dan Downing
Nathrop
