In recent months, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 and BLM crises, the news media in the United States has started pushing a religious narrative on its viewers. This trend disturbs me greatly and it’s one that gives me pause for paranoid concern.
Prior to the Occupy Wall Street movement, the media conglomerates in the US kept a close eye on the banking industry. As the 2008 recession hit, there was no shortage of blame leveled at the bankers and their backers in the legislature. Everyone knew terms like “credit default swap”, “unregulated derivative”, “Glass-Steagall Act”, and “Dodd-Frank.” Everyone knew that the banks were responsible for the problems in our society, and most people wanted justice. Since then, there has been precious little done to reform the banking industry and the media finds it more lucrative to fixate on racial injustice in America (this despite the fact that police brutality transcends race). Yet the damage banks do to black families, black businesses, and black lives is far more insidious and far more enduring.
Now, the media are pitching religion at us. I’ve kept an informal tally and, thus far, local news outlets in my viewing area have covered 10 faith-related stories in the past week, while national outlets have covered a flat dozen.
Be mindful of the efforts of the media to push religion onto you. They’re working hard to sell it for some reason, perhaps because they know its opioid effects.
My Job Is Scaring You 