As a “free range” child growing up in Michigan during the 1970s, I nevertheless spent many a frigid wintery day trapped inside watching television. For those similarly incarcerated owing to Mother Nature, there was a rare ray of edifying entertainment piercing through the grim vapidity of daytime TVs soap operas and rerun fare: Schoolhouse Rock.

Admittedly, I enjoyed the music and cartoons far more than the grammar and civics lessons. This, perhaps, explains why even today I would still rather hold a guitar than a pen. Nevertheless, repetition did, indeed, limn the outlines of my understanding of these subjects. Fortuitously, as the communications revolution proceeded apace my comprehension of both grammar and civics provided a foundation for identifying the biases—both patent and subtle—of the Democrat-Media-Complex (DMC).

In tort law, there is a concept called “false light.” Unlike in libel and slander cases, where truth is an absolute defense, such is not the case for false light. Why? Because false light occurs when all the facts stated are true, but the defendant has arranged and/or stated them in a manner that gives a deliberately inaccurate impression of someone’s intentions and actions. In politics, painting your opponent in a false light is called campaigning. But when the DMC does it, it rises to the level of state propaganda.

Lacking an opponent, the Democrat-Media-Complex media instead selects a target—invariably one who is right-of-center—and jettisons its purported commitment to objectivity. The rise of the revisionist, partisan “accountability journalism” rejects being fair to all sides of any given issue and, instead, avers that journalists must serve as partisans for “the truth”—which is rich considering the post-modernist left rejects the concept of objective truth.

Nevertheless, for our purposes it suffices to say that those in the DMC still clinging to their tattered reputation for objectivity can be quite sly about slipping their bias into their reporting. Consider the impact a single word choice can make on a story:

“During the crisis, the president walked into the Oval Office.”

“Walked” is the least value-laden verb possible—i.e., the most objective. It allows the reader to make up his own mind regarding the president’s entrance and subsequent actions. After reading this description, the reader will be able to form his own views about the president.

“During the crisis, the president strode into the Oval Office.”

“Strode” is a value laden verb with a positive connotation, one designed to paint the president in the best light possible. It seeks to encourage the reader to view the president as decisive in a crisis; and to view the subsequent actions of the commander-in-chief as salutary and deserving of support.

“During the crisis, the president sauntered into the Oval Office.”

“Sauntered” is a value-laden verb with a negative connotation, one designed to paint the president in the worst possible light. It seeks to encourage the reader to view the president as disinterested in the crisis and to take an unfavorable view of his subsequent actions. It aims at inspiring you to personally oppose the president.

Verb: “It’s what’s happening!” Or is it? Not being in the room or having access to the sources the reporter does, we are left in the dark with only a dim and possibly false light to guide us. And, as the DMC repeatedly tells us ad nauseum without a hint of self-awareness, democracy dies in darkness.

Going forward, the DMC needs to experience the darkness that should descend upon them when reporters are purblind to their own biases.

The freedom of the press is a God-given right that must never be infringed. But while we all have a duty to defend this freedom, we have no concomitant duty to read any specific outlet, listen to it, watch it, or subsidize it. Parsing the DMC to discern its biases requires vigilance, so it’s no surprise that many Americans have given up and moved on to discover outlets that provide more objective and accurate information.

Instead of raging against the DMC machine, Americans now have the option to simply ignore them. They will likely go nuts before they go bankrupt.