Bush, God and the Media

I cannot really understand politics. Maybe I know it only as well as general Hong Kong people do. My society is not a very good platform for me to grasp the fuller meanings of politics, although I want to learn more of it. I can see from the TV programs that the two parties of Bush and Kerry are nervous about the selection result. Paradoxically I am happy for the sadness of the supporters of Kerry, because at least they know whom they are crying for. It is marvellous that citizens can have expectation on the government and her officials.

From watching Michael Moore’s docu-drama of Fahrenheit 9/11 and the “God Bless America: With God on our side (Broadcasted in Channel 4), I have learnt something although I still could not understand much about politics: I could see the power of media, how it controls the world. The former film highlighted the selfishness and egocentrism of Bush, but the later one extolled Bush’s religious piety, supported by a large groups of religious leaders.

Who is with God on one’s side? Who Bush the man really is? I cannot really understand. I will start to learn this world, created by the media, nourished by the media, which may be very different from the reality.

布殊．上帝．傳媒

我對政治，可能正如一般香港人，總是不明所以。好想了解多些，但總是覺得我們的社會沒有給過我們一片可以成長的土壤。在電視上看到美國國民為兩個陣營的緊張情緒，看到克里的支持者臉上的悲哀和無奈，我倒為他們高興──起碼他們知道他們支持著什麼，為誰而哭泣。對政府、對在位者有所期待，總算是一件好事。

對於布殊還是克里，我仍是不能理出什麼意見來，只是在學習著，學習著，試圖理解什麼是政治。剛看了Michael Moore的電影《華氏九一一》 (Fahrenheit 9/11) 和一套紀錄片 “God Bless America: With God on Our Side” (broadcasted in Channel 4)，更深明白的不是政治上的誰是誰非，反而是傳媒的影響力。前者描繪布殊為自己利益的苦心經營，後者則請來大量宗教領袖高舉布殊的宗教性，欣賞他對上主的絕對服從。

誰是誰非？布殊是在打宗教的旗號，以謀私人利益？還是如宗教領袖們的看法，他對他的使命立場堅定，為真理而「企硬」？傳媒的力量，其影響之大，真是前可見古人，後可見來者──想見什麼，就有什麼！我們又怎樣理解這個被傳媒創造出來的世界呢？


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