Character assassination has become the tool “du jour” for low information individuals struggling to make political points. Happily, it often blows up in their faces.

It is scary to me that people are okay with this and even participate.

Mitch Teemley published this great post on his blog, The Power of Story.

The New Death Penalty

The death penalty is dying. Even in many American states where it’s still legal, it’s no longer actually practiced. Why? One key reason is that too many innocent people have been wrongly executed.

It’s interesting, therefore, that character assassination is more popular than ever.

Enough of the character assassination!

I thought the post was very thoughtful and raised some interesting ideas. Character assassination is now the go-to tool for far too many in the media. Journalistic integrity is out the window as they pursue their various political agendas. What happens after the story is proven to be fake? I hear crickets chirping . No retractions! No apologies!

I don’t see this as a partisan issue at all. We, as Americans, should demand much better from our leaders and ourselves. Remember those pesky old things like integrity, honor, courage, and honesty? I do. I am really starting to miss them. Aren’t you?

We need to become more discriminating in our consumption of news. It never ceases to amaze me how news personalities who have been repeatedly caught lying continue to be taken seriously.

A free press with high standards of journalistic integrity is necessary for the protection and continuation of our Republic! Talking heads spewing the angry rhetoric of one particular political group does not qualify as a free press. Now, it is an enemy of the American people.

Speaking of integrity, honor and courage …

Check out my high-adrenaline military action thriller, Serpents Underfoot.

Conspiracy. Terrorism. One SEAL stands between freedom and nuclear annihilation.  

It is available from Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback versions and has gotten a lot of great reviews. I would love to hear what you think.

Read more great posts here!