What is it about our major newspapers that they keep repeating the same classic media blunder? They equate both sides in every argument, terrified that if they speak the truth (that one side is less honest), the right will yell “Biased liberal media!” at them. I might have written about it once or twice (Spoiler: they’ll still yell at you.)
While the New York Times is the most notorious, the Washington Post isn’t far behind. This month, the Post published its list of “The 10 best books of 2022.”
First, really? It’s only mid-November.
Anyway, they include “Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost Its Mind” by Robert Draper. Now, don’t get me wrong. This is a wonderful book that deserves to be on this list.
But here’s the Post’s blurb:
In this vital, indispensable book, journalist Draper elbows his way into the right-wing crowd in the halls of Congress. He starts with the insurrection at the Capitol, offering a startling level of new, first-person detail about that extensively covered day. In his rigorous reporting, Draper is drawn to individuals who speak — and tweet — opinions far outside of alignment with reality. He treats his subjects with empathy, even when he’s disputing matters of fact. But the abundance of deceptions he compiles adds heft to the ultimate point: that Americans’ combative relationship with the truth has made us vulnerable to any outrageous lie.
“The 10 best books of 2022,” The Washington Post, November 11, 2022
It’s that last sentence where the Post goes off the rails. “But the abundance of deceptions he compiles adds heft to the ultimate point: that Americans’ combative relationship with the truth has made us vulnerable to any outrageous lie.”
<Sigh> Really? Americans, as in, all of us? No, that wasn’t the author’s ‘ultimate point.’ I thought the subtitle was clear enough.
That automatic half-stepping Bothsiderism hogwash is fucking annoying. Talk about an unforced media blunder. If you’re summarizing a book about Republican delusions, honestly, it’s OK to include that in the blurb.
