Immigration Ban- Blog 2

My oh my, it seems like forever ago that the media was plastered with new and breaking details about President Trump’s Immigration Executive Order. Well folks, that’s because it has been forever, we have moved on to bigger and more exciting things…you know, potential Russian ties and airstrikes in Syria. This got me thinking, did the people just stop caring? Or did the media decide we needed something new and fresh to bicker over? For a political junkie like myself, I follow the details to this executive order daily, but I find some people who once had very strong opinions on the topic, don’t even know what is happening currently. And this ladies and gentlemen is what I like to call MEDIA MANIPULATION. Conservative and liberal media outlets have it all figured out, they tell you how to think, what to think, and how long you should think about these specific issues.

As of recent, most of the back and forth we see on this topic can be exemplified in one simple question: Is this reform Constitutional? We had great dialogue in class regarding the interpretation of the Constitution, since it does lack specifics to certain situations. Our political agenda and morals impact our perception greatly. I found two articles both written in a similar question/ answer format that clearly have different notions and mindsets on the temporary immigration ban.

Today’s Matchup:

Conservative Review: Separating Fact from Sickening Media Fiction on Trump’s Immigration Executive Order vs. Slate: Trump Said He Wanted a Muslim Ban

The Conservative Review and Slate seem to be very extreme in their sentiments pertaining to this topic. It was quite easy to notice the salient and omitted facts. The Conservative Review article does a great job of educating the audience, with zero(ish) bias. It politely reminds everyone that the so called “Muslim Ban” is simply a suspension on immigration. “It shuts off the issuance of all new immigrant and non-immigrant visas for 90 days from the following seven volatile countries: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.” For the most part, I find that this article stays unbiased and is merely trying to enlighten the audience on why the executive order is constitutional and no big deal. Of course, we can debate that the authors lax attitude is indeed bias, because he is unaffected by the reform period. Do authors have any business writing about a topic that doesn’t affect them? That certainly has an impact on ones demeanor, especially when it is concerning such a sensitive topic. The authors facts and evidence make him a reliable source no matter what side of the spectrum you find yourself on.

The article from Slate had some good specific details pertaining to the arguments of the Washington lawsuit versus President Trump’s reform. This author had no interest in remaining unbiased (I think), his article seemed so fueled by feelings and emotions that he couldn’t see the common goal in the executive order. President Trump did not implement the temporary immigration ban to be vicious and mean like he is made out to be. The author left out that necessary educational portion that readers need to make their own opinion. I'd like to say the author made good legal points, but he didn't have any evidence regarding the "constitutional limitations" he speaks so frequently about. However, this is certainly a great way to strike up anger and sensitivity in readers, as I said before a media outlets favorite audience are the naïve viewers.

Immigration Ban

After President Trump’s exciting victory in November, you noticed, and still do notice today, a divide amongst the people of our nation. We have people excited for the future of our country, and we have people who are worried about the future of our country. This is easily compared to the split in our political parties, which even further can be compared to the split in our media. However, I would say the 3 categories of political news would be: right leaning, left leaning, and fake news. No matter where you find yourself on the spectrum, we all must be conscious of the manipulation of the world at large. You must be skeptical of everything, and trust no one source.

A hot topic as of recent would be President Trump’s immigration ban, which has grabbed the media’s attention, and has been a continuous back and forth of facts, opinions, biases, and emotions. The best media outlets I could compare would be Fox News and CNN, who have completely different stories on the sole topic. But here’s the deal people, there is only one truth. No matter how you spin it, or what you choose to believe. There is nothing better for these political outlets than a naïve audience to take advantage of.

Here are the facts, the immigration ban was placed upon 7 countries including Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia. The left sided media (CNN) is calling this a “Muslim Ban.” And what most people don’t seem to understand is that this temporary ban, does not include Indonesia and India, which just so happen to be the most Muslim populated countries. Of course, without further research by viewers, most people would probably not know that. Is CNN lying? No, they just aren’t sharing those specific details. Another platform the left sided media has been running on is the thought that this immigration ban, is “Un-American and Unconstitutional.” This accusation is actually quite comical because Barack Obama actually did the same thing in 2014 when he temporarily eliminated immigration. CNN chose to not include this fact, whereas the right leaning media (Fox News) did. Speaking of Fox News, their platform of this controversial topic is that during the race for presidency, Donald Trump’s campaign promise was to keep this country safe, no matter the measure. Some may debate that he kept his promise, or stepped over the line and abused his power as President.

As you can tell, it’s all a matter of interpretation and what news source you watch. Our political outlets are merely just a game of “telephone.” You know, that game we all played in elementary school, when you’re given a story and at the end it’s completely misconstrued after being passed down a long line of people. Words get twisted, either on purpose or by accident and it’s our job to do further research and compare these sources. Although media outlets like Fox News and CNN can be misleading or bias, chances are they aren’t completely wrong, and are not lying to you.