Come now the editorialists of the Washington Post, to express the paper’s opinion on the Advanced Cell Technology embryonic stem cell non breakthrough. The trouble is, the Post supports its opinion by totally ignoring the actual facts. The editorial focuses on the Bush Administration’s refusal to simply accept this experiment as a reason to change its ESCR funding policy. It even quotes bioethicist Ronald Green in support of the editorial position—even though Green was dead wrong when he “honestly” claimed that no embryos were harmed in any way in the creation of ACT’s stem cell lines. I guess if a source agrees with the MSM, he can tell blatant falsehoods to reporters faces and still be deemed credible!
And this is the moral of the story: What matters to modern-day journalists isn’t the facts, but the narrative. The MSM narrative in the ESCR debate is that Bush is wrong to limit federal funding. That’s the be all and the end all. In such a fevered state, even the actual facts take a back seat to pushing the desired story line.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…