A few years ago, while driving through South Carolina, we stopped at a Best Western Hotel where the television in the lobby was broadcasting CNN. I went up to the main desk and thanked the receptionist for not broadcasting Fox News, the common choice in those parts. I have a good friend in the south who reports that his health club always has the television tuned in to Fox News. He calls it the “Fox Den.”

I can almost hear fans of Fox who are reading this column protesting that, “All the other channels broadcast liberal propaganda, so Fox is a good counterbalance.” Yeah, right. Remember when Fox had their “fair and balanced” motto? That may have been somewhat true back in the day, but it sure isn’t now.

Fox News has become, without apology, the communications arm for the Republican Party. It gets worse. The $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox filed by Dominion revealed through texts and depositions that Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman of Fox Corp., admitted that he and major Fox News “reporters,” such as Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, knew full well that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election fair and square. Fearing declining ratings if they told the truth to their Trump-loving fans, Fox News and its celebrity icons decided to keep promulgating the Big Lie. In a deposition, Rupert even admitted the truth, saying, “This isn’t about red or blue, it’s about green.” That’s right. Fox made a purely financial decision, never mind the facts or the potential consequences.

Guess what: That decision helped lead to the insurrection on Jan. 6, because Fox and related right-wing news media kept trumpeting the Big Lie to keep their audiences. Fair and balanced? Nope. Patriotic? Hardly.

One television commentator noted that in addition to granting Dominion a huge financial award to Dominion, the judge should rule that Hannity, Carlson and other reporters who spread the Big Lie must admit on the air that they had lied to the audience; that Joe Biden really did, in fact, win the election. Now that would be poetic justice at its best.

In fairness, Fox News isn’t the first entertainment figure that has made millions by appealing to the worst instincts of the American public. Rush Limbaugh paved the way. Claiming victimhood. Tapping in to fears that white Americans had to take a stand to remain in power; that the “libruls” were going to take away your guns and Bibles and the way of life you (white people) once had. Blaming the liberal/communist/socialist (pick your adjective) other party. And on and on.

Here’s the irony. Fox News and Rush Limbaugh wrapped themselves in the American flag and, increasingly, the Bible, while fostering unAmerican activities, such as the insurrection. They natter on about “freedom,” while denying women the freedom to make their own medical decisions or gays the right to marry whom they choose. They warn of the dangers of government overreach, while dictating what teachers can teach. They blame Democrats for “out-of-control” government spending, while ignoring the record deficits compiled under Trump and other Republican presidents. At the end of the day, it’s all about ratings. As one wag noted, “Fox News is rich people telling middle class people to blame poor people.”

Be assured that I’m not espousing a one-party government. Far from it. We need two strong political parties. Each party should consist of members who are willing to work with the other side to reach consensus on behalf of the American people. But each side must remain committed to the principles of democracy and to the need to respect the truth.

Let’s hope that Fox News must pay the price for its divisive, greed-driven, unAmerican philosophy. And let’s harness the best instincts of Americans to put our country back on track.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.

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