A Psychotherapist's take on The O'Reilly Factor
Reported by Chrish - June 24, 2006 -
I came across this article at Buzzflash
and thought it pertinent.
Psychotherapist Peter Michaelson writes of Bill O'Reilly
"I do suspect that the TV personality's confrontational and condemning style is toxic and that his program's negativity oozes into America's living-rooms and diminishes, with its sickening defiance of civil discourse, the lives of those who watch the show."
After describing in some detail a case involving a husband who verbally abuses his wife after she changes the channel during the Factor, he concludes
"Our job as Americans is to become stronger and more powerful in our own selves, the results of which will be a secure democracy and more peace in the world. We get no help from programs such as "The O'Reilly Factor," which serves the selfish interests of the power elite in two ways: Money is made from the commercialization of negativity and those of us unaware enough to watch the show will remain resentful, petty, passive, and divided."
Comment: We've noted many times that one of the primary functions of FOX is to encourage divisiveness in this country, pitting Americans against one another (along with cheerleading "their side" and distracting the public from matters of vital importance for self-governance). The anger and contempt that are O'Reilly's hallmarks validate those same unhealthy, destructive traits in his viewers. You're either with him, or against him - the overriding slogan of this administration and its cheerleaders.
