More propaganda in the guise of justice and fairness

Don’t you feel better? Washington Post “ombudsman”—reader representative—Patrick Pexton reported on Friday that he receives “a steady stream of emails and phone calls from readers who assert that The Post has a ‘pro-gay agenda’ and publishes too many ‘puffy’ stories about gay marriage.”

Pexton quoted a reporter’s response:

“The reason that legitimate media outlets routinely cover gays is because it is the civil rights issue of our time. Journalism, at its core, is about justice and fairness, and that’s the ‘view of the world’ that we espouse. … Of course I have a bias. I have a bias toward fairness.”

That’s a tautology, of course: All people are biased in favor of whatever they think is fair—the first sentence of many children is, “It’s not fair”—but Pexton seemed to see journalists as special folks with “a strong desire for fairness.” He then wrote of those who think that state-approved gay unions diminish the value of marriage: “I don’t understand this.”

It’s not that hard to understand, though. Civil rights for all people is fully in line with what the Bible teaches, but redefining marriage is utterly opposed to it. Besides, whether we believe in Darwinism or intelligent design, our evolved or created bodies show a male-female fit not evident in any other combination. As some of us so radically go against how we are made, some consequences already are clear, but many now unseen will become evident in upcoming decades.

Pexton did quote a reader’s criticism of the Post: The reader didn’t debate the question of what justice is, but asserted that “the mission of journalism is not justice. … Journalism should be about accuracy and fairness.” I’d suggest, though, that justice, accuracy, and fairness are indivisible. For example, for 40 years the Post has consistently ignored the civil rights of tiny people in wombs and inaccurately reported the annual marches and other efforts of their defenders.

I’ll take as other than hypocrisy the “justice” claims of Pexton and the Post when they start respecting unborn children. Otherwise, this cry of civil rights is just too, too convenient.