As By Brad Wilmouth writes at Newsbusters, “PBS’s Smiley Sees ‘Tolerance Decreasing’ in America, U.S. Seen as ‘Arrogant, Elitist, Pompous:’”
On Monday’s Tavis Smiley show on PBS, during a discussion with author Robert Putnam to discuss his book American Grace, after Putnam recounted the central thesis that various religions in America – and even non-religious people — tend to tolerate each other well compared to other countries, host Smiley made known his view that tolerance is “decreasing” in America and cited attitudes toward Muslims as a recent example.
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Moments later, the PBS host brought up the negative views of America held by some as being a nation that is “arrogant,” “elitist,” “pompous,” and “nationalistic.” As he analyzed the book’s title by defining the word “grace” as being “unmerited favor,” Smiley continued:
And if American grace is then an unmerited favor, I’m trying to juxtapose that grace with what some see as our increasing arrogance, our increasing elitism, how it is that we could be the beneficiaries of this unmerited favor, this grace, and yet, around the world, we don’t appear to be graceful to so many other people. They see us as arrogant, elitist pompous, and not even just patriotic, but increasingly nationalistic.
And no doubt, quotes such as this aren’t helping matters:
Harry Reid, put down the crack pipe. You don’t work for Barack Obama? We’re all working for Barack Obama.
— Tavis Smiley, January of 2009.
But then, elsewhere at Newsbusters, Rich Noyes rounds up the most egregious quotes of 2010, and notes how Ruling Class anchormen and journalist teed-off on their customers (i.e., you and I) throughout the year:
Best of 2010: Media Scolded Americans as Anti-Islamic, Anti-Immigrant Bigots
Or to put it another way, “The Liberal Media Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us,” Kurt Schlichter of Big Journalism wrote in September.
Don’t believe him? Just ask Newsweek, Time and CNN veteran Fareed Zakaria, whose book on The Post-American World was photographed approvingly in the hands of post-American presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.
As Zakaria said on CNN’s anemically-rated Parker-Spitzer show earlier this month:
Parker asked Zakaria if he had faith the American people could handle the fiscal discipline he advocated. Zakaria used the platform as an opportunity to attack Americans and refute the notion “the American people are wonderful.” His solution: Less consumption by the American people.
“No, I think the people are the big problem,” Zakaria said. “I mean, Americans — everybody wants to say the American people are so wonderful. You know, I think that when they come to recognize that they have to make sacrifices too that it’s not just wasteful — they need to have — they need to recognize that some of what’s going to happen here is fewer. They have to consume fewer things. They have to accept slightly higher taxes. And in the long run, you will have a much better economy.”
As I wrote at the the time, I agree. That’s why I began by consuming fewer media sources, eliminating Newsweek, Time and CNN, Zakaria’s main haunts, ages ago.
Related: If you’ll forgive the expression, “Don’t Fire Nina Totenberg, Fire NPR,” Ned Rice of Human Events helpfully suggests.
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