From: William Rivers Pitt Subject: Moving The Pile
Dear Friends, Over the ten years I have written and worked for Truthout, I have always taken pride in what I do. In my own very small way, I "move the pile" - a phrase I came up with a long time ago to explain what it is I do - and tell the truth as I find it. It is no small thing to be involved in such labors, even though I am often left with the sense that I am drowning in an ocean of madness and lies. Tiny little Truthout, tiny little me, up against the screaming klaxon of "mainstream" news and the "consensus of opinion" they ram down our throats by dint of sheer overwhelming force. "Everyone knows" and "everyone thinks" the same set of predetermined facts, which rarely have anything to do with actual truth. It is no small thing to strive against this phenomenon, and these last few days have been a case in point. Sarah Palin [ http://www.truth-out.org/poor-poor-sarah66781 ], Glenn Beck, Sharron Angle, Michelle Bachmann, Rush Limbaugh and those of their ilk have spent the last two years bellowing violent, racist rhetoric in the public square, as is their right under the First Amendment. Unfortunately for the rest of us, they have at their disposal (a perfect word, that) multi-million-dollar corporate-sponsored megaphones to shout into, and thus we are all defiled and debased by the noise. That's all it is, by the way: noise. The state of Arizona endured perhaps the most racist, violent, repugnant avalanche of rhetoric in the history of modern politics during the last election cycle, and in the closing act, a Democratic congresswoman along with nineteen other people were gunned down. People like me, people who strive to "move the pile," shouted until our lungs burst about how the nature of violent right-wing rhetoric helped create the kind of climate where such orgies of violence are to be expected, and in certain vile circles, celebrated as an expression of "freedom." Unfortunately, thanks to those corporate megaphones, the story has turned towards the "lone nut" theory, because politics had nothing to do with it, because they say so. I disagree. [ http://www.truth-out.org/the-wrath-fools-an-open-letter-to-far-right66686 ] Our purpose at Truthout is to stand as a bulwark against these lies, these frauds that are perpetrated daily against the people, under the guise of "information." I do my small part, you do your small part, we at Truthout do our small part, to push back against it all, to "move the pile" as best we can. Truth is self-explanatory, and the only reason it sounds strange to people is because they so rarely hear it. Truth is what I do, what we at Truthout do to the best of our abilities. We need your help to do it, to keep doing it, to make sure that the noise does not inundate the truth. Not on my watch, not on your watch, not on our watch. We need you to back us: please become a part of this effort Sincerely, William Rivers Pitt ----------- Thank you! Our Privacy Policy -> http://www.truthout.org/privacy -- Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. Have a great day, Tommy -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
