Collegiate Times

We worry about various kinds of tyranny and injustice disseminating from Washington, but the lack of scrutiny of state politics has given free rein to state officials. The loss of local media, which once held politicians to their word as the national media tries to today, is at the heart of this problem, and its return to functionality is the only solution.

Nationalized journalism has gone beyond standard media operations of informing constituents and being a government watchdog — it has also pervaded our own philosophies. Whereas in the past, important issues were addressed at state levels where politicians could generate solutions to fit their state’s unique situation, Americans now look to Washington to solve every issue.

Consider health care: instead of seeking federal legislation, Massachusetts citizens decided to create their own reforms that solved the problems they faced in particular, rather than all the other problems facing each individual state in the union. Without commenting on Obama’s plan, I would venture to say that Massachusetts’s reforms were much more efficient and directed than national reforms could ever be.

Many may point to the famous calls for “states’ rights” during the civil rights movement as evidence of the tyrannical potential of states, and the need for the federal government to protect American citizens. Obviously, most do not object to the civil rights acts in modern times. However, what supports of states’ rights ignored then, and critics of state-oriented politics ignore now, is that the 14th Amendment barred both the federal government and the states from discrimination, and Section 5 gave Congress the power to enforce it “by appropriate legislation.” Thus, federal civil rights legislation was both constitutional and, of course, proper.

The return of state-centered journalism is requisite for an efficient and solution-oriented government. Progress and solutions to problems almost always come from analyzing the individual issues’ problems on the micro-scale, where broad ideologies are not powerful enough to constrain what solutions a person is willing to pursue but are sufficient enough to moderate the solutions we accept. (In other words, we might determine a solution to student dropout rates, but if it somehow conflicted with a basic freedom, we would shelve it.) Establishing this type of government requires state-oriented journalism, as does guaranteeing the continued benevolence of any efficient
government.

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 24 issue of the Collegiate Times.