Decertifying, continued...

It occurred to me recently that I know an analog to Jay Rosen's press decertification argument: Satan the deciever.

Inconvenient facts getting in the way of your agenda? "Well, that's what you'd expect from the liberal media." It's a great response because it never forces you to confront the facts you're trying to avoid. Logic is not required.

Dinosaur bones from 65 million years ago casting doubts on your fundamentalist belief that God created the planet 5,000 years ago? Piece of cake: "Those bones were put there by Satan." I have an uncle who believes this, and he sent his three children through Bob Jones University.

There is a segment of the country that has so thoroughly walled itself off from new information that nothing will ever get through. All you need is a persecuted world view in which your perceived enemies will stop at nothing to discredit the faithful and distort the truth. Once you've got that in place, the rest is easy.