“Never bring a knife to a gunfight” is a piece of advice that has made its way into more than a few movies. It comes to mind after the most recent debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Biden was clearly unprepared for the bullets that came his way. Neither candidate did a good job in answering the questions they were asked. Biden tried and Trump went in his own direction like a gatling gun.
Now that the presidential race has changed dramatically with the addition of Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket, the next three months will be radically different from what we might have expected several weeks ago. The kinder, more gentle personality that was promised after the outrageous attack on Trump’s life made a brief appearance at his Republican Convention acceptance speech. The former California attorney general, his new rival, has wasted no time in characterizing the race as one between a prosecutor and a convicted felon. The gloves are off, and a vitriolic race is underway.
Because the run-up to a presidential election now consumes two years of time, exhaustion is a common experience. While understandable, the downside is that people turn away and tune out. The result is an electorate that can be easily swayed by a catchy comment or a surprise event in the closing days before the election. What our democracy requires is an informed electorate that has some insulation from the spins, the mischaracterizations, and the dissembling that might come from both sides.
The Fourth Estate is the professional class of news media whose responsibility is to inform and educate the public. While many individuals, newspapers, and cable outlets might lay claim to this title, their political leanings might prevent them from being true educators, rooted in an unvarnished commitment to the truth. Because studies have shown that news consumers gravitate toward outlets that mirror their political leanings, it is up to everyone to be aware of the biases that may undergird what they are hearing, reading, and seeing.
When Pontius Pilate asked what is the truth, Jesus confirmed the fact that there is something called the truth. Political discourse conveniently forgets this in favor of spinning the truth into advocacy for one cause or candidate or another. It should be the responsibility of the Fourth Estate to call out manipulation and distortions wherever and whenever they appear. A thing cannot be and not be at the same time. Allowing alterations of the truth to sit beside the truth as if they are merely differences of opinion does not advance the cause of educating the electorate about complicated issues.
President John F. Kennedy was the first president to hold televised news conferences. Reporters in attendance were respectful and knowledgeable. They asked good questions and allowed people at home to understand the thinking behind decisions and get a firsthand education about the multiple issues surrounding public policy. Presidential debates are not news conferences. Nor are they really debates in the true sense of the word. They involve a host of questions that can be ignored or answered. The interrogators are loath to correct misinformation for fear of appearing partisan. The result is more entertainment and less an exposition of what candidates truly believe.
Real news conferences can be an excellent antidote to the exhaustion that weakens our democracy. Candidates can easily bat down the “gotcha” questions that are more about the person asking the question than about elucidating an issue. At the same time, those asking questions can pursue real answers and not allow the candidates to go off on tangents that are not germane to the asked questions. Real news conferences can be about truth and understanding. They can educate voters about important issues and the platforms of candidates.
In the end, an informed electorate is an essential ingredient in a functioning democracy. News conferences will not tamp down the kind of demagoguery and grandstanding that are the fare of political rallies. They will, however, invite greater interest within the electorate, especially among those who are not political junkies. They will put candidates on notice that the truth matters because, when all is said and done, the truth will make us free and guarantee our liberties for another day!
Msgr. Paul V. Garrity is a senior priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and former pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Lynn.
