| | Politicians are particularly sensitive to political issues that may be used by the media to help or hurt their popularity. After there was publicity and attention from politically powerful Second Amendment groups (the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms - guns) about how a man ( Brian Aitken) was sentenced to seven years in jail merely for peacefully having a gun in the trunk of his car as he moved to New Jersey, NJ Governor Chris Christie commuted his sentence and ordered his release from jail. That issue because a political issue, and the political power of those on the side of the Second Amendment resulted in Christie's decision. | | Politicians are particularly sensitive to political issues that may be used by the media to help or hurt their popularity. After there was publicity and attention from politically powerful Second Amendment groups (the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms - guns) about how a man ( Brian Aitken) was sentenced to seven years in jail merely for peacefully having a gun in the trunk of his car as he moved to New Jersey, NJ Governor Chris Christie commuted his sentence and ordered his release from jail. That issue because a political issue, and the political power of those on the side of the Second Amendment resulted in Christie's decision. |
| − | Some might think that politics does not influence many areas of life. But even professional sports, which is supposed to be based entirely on merit, is influenced by politics. A Greek Olympic athlete was excluded by her nation from competing for her team because of a political statement she made on Twitter, despite how she had trained for years and qualified to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. As another example, outspoken Christian Tim Tebow, who defeated the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round last year, was traded to the New York Jets, which has a more liberal media market. In Sunday's game between the Jets and Steelers, Tim Tebow was abruptly pulled out of the game despite doing better than the other quarterback. The Jets lost 27-10 without Tebow being allowed to throw a single pass, to a team that Tebow had defeated 8 months earlier. But others would say politics has nothing to do with this, and that Tebow cannot throw a football as well as the other quarterback. | + | Some might think that politics does not influence many areas of life. But even professional sports, which is supposed to be based entirely on merit, is influenced by politics. A Greek Olympic athlete was excluded by her nation from competing for her team because of a political statement she made on Twitter, despite how she had trained for years and qualified to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. As another example, outspoken Christian Tim Tebow, who defeated the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round last year, was traded to the New York Jets, which has a more liberal media market. In Sunday's game between the Jets and Steelers, Tim Tebow was abruptly pulled out of the game despite doing better than the other quarterback. The Jets then lost 27-10 without Tebow being allowed to throw a single pass, to a team that Tebow had defeated 8 months earlier. One wonders if his decision was based on anti-Tebow pressure by the media. |
| | Politics affects far more than government. Almost everything seen in the media is influenced by behind-the-scenes political considerations, and many endeavors (including even professional sports) depend on the media for success or failure. The moral is not to back down from your principles, but to be aware how politics does distort almost everything in the "public square," including even business. | | Politics affects far more than government. Almost everything seen in the media is influenced by behind-the-scenes political considerations, and many endeavors (including even professional sports) depend on the media for success or failure. The moral is not to back down from your principles, but to be aware how politics does distort almost everything in the "public square," including even business. |