Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words - 1

Research Proposal Example This sentiment is supported by Van Belle (2000) who argues that political figures within a government structure are pressured to make socially-relevant decisions within the constant presence of the camera, hence media serving as a force to drive political transparency in decision-making and communications. Without media serving as a medium for educating political thought and providing society members with knowledge regarding the behaviors of political representatives, the public would have inferior knowledge about governance activities and political decision-making. In the early 2000s, after the events of September 11, 2001, political ideology in American society changed as a result of media coverage of the George W. Bush political administration and its efforts to curb the spread of terrorism in the United States. In Western nations, such as the United States, the slaughter of civilians is believed, at the social level, to be barbaric and monstrous (Atawneh, 2009). The acting President Bush led a media-driven campaign to publicize his stance on terrorism which emphasized that these terrorist actors were evil and reprehensible, with this discourse influencing American society members to view Middle Easterns as malevolent and immoral (Graham, Keenan & Dowd, 2004). The President, using media as a forum to spread this politically-motivated ideology, utilized the phrase us versus them, where â€Å"us† was representative of peaceful individuals and â€Å"them† as foreign opponents of democratic lifestyle and peace-loving society (Leuda r & Marsland, 2004). Media coverage of Bush’s ideology toward terrorism influenced American society to adopt his political views related to the terror campaign, giving Bush more social clout which ultimately led to society’s political action to elect Bush for a second term. The media, hence, served as the fundamental influence to change political thought of American citizens, with media-covered political rhetoric