The ritzy White House Correspondents’ Dinner last week confirmed everything we already knew about the mainstream, left-learning, right-loathing media. Their annual black tie dinner claims to promote excellence in journalism and education and is held annually to award scholarships to young reporters, but it’s truly a party for themselves since the students who were awardees were relegated to the back of the room and the programming cut away to commentary when the scholarship portion of the evening was taking place. And for the immense wealth amassed in that room, most of the scholarships were for $2,500 – pocket change to this crowd. It was obvious that the student focus was an afterthought, not the priority.
Historically known as a roast-type event where the media makes fun of themselves and the president, more recently, the leftist media throws cotton ball jokes at each other, including President Biden, while launching grenades at Donald Trump, who wasn’t even in the room. But as they did, they weren’t just mocking and criticizing Trump, they were belittling and disregarding half of America. And did so with derision.
The left constantly claims they want civility in politics and in society. They champion tolerance and equity and demand it for every box-checking identity. Yet Trump and his supporters are excluded from consideration for that civility, tolerance, and equity. The left doesn’t hide their abhorrence for conservatives, nor do they stand up for the rights of an entire people group, the Jews, to even exist. Hypocrisy doesn’t even begin to categorize their behavior.
It is clear that the calls for acceptance and tolerance only go one way from the ivory towers of newsrooms in New York and Washington, DC.
Thankfully, the nation as a whole tells a very different story – one to which the media elites should pay closer attention.
While the talking heads of MSNBC and CNN and even NPR, sit in their climate controlled, security protected studios and throw stones of condemnation at the rest of us, the American people are still getting along. Yes, of course, there are horrific anti-Semitic protests on college campuses, which have been encouraged and allowed by weak leaders, but for the majority of America, we are not fighting, or protesting. We are working hard and getting along. We have to.
Everyday Americans don’t have the luxury of insulation from opposing ideologies, and we are better off because of it. While elites gather at dinner parties curated to only include acceptable social, political, and ideologically aligned guests, the rest of us live next to, work with, worship alongside, and are even related to, people with whom we may have great fundamental disagreement. Yet we co-exist. Peacefully, respectfully, and happily.
While there are many things that divide us, there are more things that unite us. Regardless of political party, most citizens want secure borders, safe streets, schools that educate, a clean environment, economic opportunity, low inflation, protected free speech, strong alliances worldwide that create calm not chaos, and yes, even the right to protest peacefully and legally. And most citizens want equal protection under the law – and equal respect from their fellow citizens.
While we may disagree on how to achieve those goals, or which policies are most effective, the majority of Americans still agree on more than they disagree on. The media should take note.
The media megaphone is amplified, as are the causes they themselves care about – like highlighting the protests on college campuses. Yet they should also spotlight the millions of students who are peacefully going to classes, preparing for finals, and graduating as planned, alongside classmates they agree with – and disagree with.
And they should highlight patriots like the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill fraternity brothers who took down the Palestinian flag which had been raised in place of the American flag which was at half-staff to honor the lives of the fallen police officers in Charlotte, NC. These young patriots re-raised the American flag and proudly sang the national anthem, albeit off-key. These are the stories which should also be told and celebrated.
While the left continues to sow hatred, distrust, and division, Americans continue to live side by side, disagreeing with each other but doing so with civility and calm. This is who we still are. This is still the American way.
Peggy Grande was executive assistant to Ronald Reagan and is author of “The President Will See You Now.” She served in the Trump Administration and is an international television commentator and columnist.
