It is always amusing and instructive to observe the contradictions of one's adversaries. How, from this modern society so proud of its freedom, of its approach to intimate matters, this society of sensuality (when one has carefully conflated sensuality with pornography), emerges a prudish, restrictive, voyeuristic, and above all moralistic society (one should reread here Jean-Marie Domenach's essay: A Morality Without Moralism). Where this all-powerful modern society attempts to confound the morality of Catholicism, which it portrays as archaic, it very quickly develops antibodies in the form of a moralism that only feels good when judging its neighbor. This is petty-bourgeois morality. It is a French characteristic. But one that other European countries share.
The vulgarity with which the media spews their ideology, entirely based on envy, is appalling. Tiger Woods, a unique athlete, was thus thrown to the wolves, according to François Mitterrand's disproportionate reaction after Pierre Bérégovoy's suicide. John Terry, the English footballer, is also prey to the tabloids. For mere sex scandals… Appalling. But what's most appalling is that these athletes, celebrities, and politicians are judged by people who themselves will never be judged. Let me be clear. In ten years spent frequenting the newsrooms of certain French magazines, I can assure you that three out of five journalists dream of a big scoop. What is a big scoop for a journalist? Managing to bring an idol down from their pedestal, or at the very least showing that their irreproachability is seriously in doubt.
Why is the profession of journalism so prone to creating envy?
If I were to attempt a quick explanation, I would say that proximity to power, success, and talent can only breed jealousy, resentment, and envy. Above all, this proximity to a form of prosperity is an unattainable mirage; a showcase of which the journalist is merely a spectator. The urge to turn the tables on the hosts is irresistible.
Moralism is everywhere. We judge from the height of our experience (there is nothing worse), we judge from the height of what we should think (often a conglomerate of urban legends and barroom talk agglomerated by a hint of common sense), we judge because the power we derive from it is like no other.
I was smiling the other night while watching a report on a French private channel. The staging was frightening. They wanted to worry us, to scare us about the future of fish in the world's oceans. The guests answering questions were all filmed in chiaroscuro, which gave them a disturbing, somber air; the apocalypse was looming. The soundtrack could have been from Friday the 13th . The danger was there. At our feet. Within reach. Save our children! Here again, we are amused and educated to see journalists applying the techniques of politicians; techniques that are detestable in politicians, but which certainly make perfect sense in journalists. Intimidate, worry, frighten, weaken, steer. When politicians act this way, they are called demagogues. Isn't demagoguery contrary to the ethics of journalism? And besides, isn't it the journalist who creates fear by relaying the discourse under the pretext of informing?
The documentary provided interesting information. I learned a great deal about fishing around the world. The law recently enacted against bluefin tuna fishing reflects this. I won't take sides between scientists and fishermen, especially since some of my childhood friends are or have been fishermen. I can still picture that captain, a specialist in deep-sea fishing, explaining his profession. How much it has changed. How much more regulated it is these days. His story becomes joyful and playful as he recounts the many escapades he used to commit off the coast. Playing cat and mouse. Striving to break the law, to be the cleverest, to outwit the authorities. He sits at his command post. He's jubilant like a child who has circumvented the rules. Next shot from the cameraman: a Virgin and Child on a shelf in the cockpit. Moralizing, you've got us hooked…
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