Bill O'reilly, Power, and Truth

Postmodernism has recently alerted us to the fact that power and truth are close friends, that those who determine what is to be seen as truth are those who have the power. In a broader sense, truth has often been defined by empire, the most powerful political unit of any period. Even though there are often currents that undercut the claim to truth of empire, these currents often speak their own truths in private. From a narrower perspective, it is the powerful in our societies that tell us what is to be believed and what is to be believed is often what does not go against their interest. The marginalized have a way of stating their own truth but such truths are often not regarded as public truth. Public truth is often what those with power say they are.

And this bring us to the spectacle that has been going on around the Fox News showman, Bill O'reilly. Many of the stories that he has reported have been found to be blatant fabrications but given that he is himself a multimillion dollar industry that brings centers of power that include television and the publishing of books, he has simply done what the powerful do - redefine, or rather define, truth. Thus, a war zone is not a place where war is actually fought but any place where there is violent demonstration, like Selma fifty years ago. Also, one can say that they were witnesses of something even if they have only seen pictures of it. Thus, I can say that I was part of the Second World War because I have seen pictures of it or that I saw Pol Pot killing people in Cambodia because I have seen pictures of it. What is going on with the Bill O'reilly situation is a clear demonstration of the postmodern condition - truth and power are good friends. Ordinary, powerless people are taught that truth matters. However, this is not the case when it comes to the powerful - the powerful create their own truth.