Free press does not mean it's free from any agenda. Rather, it means that anyone with an agenda has the freedom to express their point of view.
The main idea that the only agenda accepted publicly are not those presented by the government, hence making the intellectual atmosphere a bit more robust and less sterile.
The point why "western press is better than russias" is not about truth but rather inviting an atmosphere where many voices can be heard.
> Next time this happens I won't waste my empathy.
Are you actually humanly capable of watching 3000 non-combatants die suddenly without feeling any empathy? Think about what you're saying - about your own humanity.
Non-combatants, whether they are Iraqi, Afghani, American or any nationality, should not be targeted by military forces. I hope this is something most people can agree on!
Whether it is a wedding the US drops bombs on to target one person, or a suicide attack like 9/11, it's wrong when any side does it.
Don't let the politicians win. They try to divide us into groups, and then make us hate each other. Even though we've never met. The reality is we are all human beings who deserve peaceful lives, but those at the top play their power games and we all suffer because of it.
The real divide is normal people vs the powerful, not country-vs-country.
Don't fall into their hands and give up your humanity out of spite.
The discussion was not about benevolence, or honesty, but of free press. The existence of free press does not eliminate pathological government behaviour, but it offers a channel for them to be aired to the public.
You make it sound like you would like the world to fall into a black and white good guys/bad guys hollywood formula.
"US isn't a dictatorship provided that your views are in-line with their propaganda."
Dictatorships imprison and torture their own citizens to maintain internal status quo - US does this to other nationalities in projects mostly dealing with foreign policy and defence.
I'm not defending US behavior, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a global political power whose officers had maintained a squeaky clean humanitarian behavior towards their claimed "enemies of the state".
Only small countries play by the rules. Large countries make the rules, lie, and maybe apologize later.
> The discussion was not about benevolence, or honesty, but of free press.
yes my point exactly. Are you suggesting the press in the US isn't 100% propaganda both on the left and right?
> You make it sound like you would like the world to fall into a black and white good guys/bad guys hollywood formula.
not at all. I dislike that idea and much rather we all live with less but instead get along. But it's much worse: it's not a future scenario, but we're already there! Whether you look at US, UK or any other place in the West identity politics distracting from the biggest money grab/heist in history (on the back of the poor as well as whatever is left over from a middle class). Just look at the divide among people in the West (in their own countries).
The press feeds on that negativity and is very much guilty of maintaining it. There is nothing to be proud of when it comes to our press! Speaking of the US specifically instead of the West, the majority of people there is too poor to afford feeding themselves without 2 or free jobs, nobody there got time to worry about complex problems and how well a story was researched. They're perfectly happy with bite-sized outrage and identity bullshit not caring about some "foreign wars" when they don't know if they can eat tomorrow or whether their children will be debt slaves for the rest of their days. Free press doesn't exist if people don't listen to them and rather tune into FoxNews, Breitbart, Infowars (and CNN on the other side of the spectrum).
The main idea that the only agenda accepted publicly are not those presented by the government, hence making the intellectual atmosphere a bit more robust and less sterile.
The point why "western press is better than russias" is not about truth but rather inviting an atmosphere where many voices can be heard.