“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” I used this quote from President Ronald Reagan in an earlier column.

To end what Reagan termed “terrifying”, he signed a bill ending the Fairness Doctrine in 1987. In actuality, the Fairness Doctrine protected the American people from the media mess and political polarization we are now suffering from.

According the Britannica.com, the Fairness Doctrine was a “U.S. communications policy (1949–87) formulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required licensed radio and television broadcasters to present fair and balanced coverage of controversial issues of interest to their communities, including by granting equal airtime to opposing candidates for public office.”

Why did the libertarian Reagan and other conservatives object to equal time for opposing candidates? Again, according to the Britannica.com this doctrine had a “chilling effect” upon free speech. This complaint was made by the newly emerging cable and satellite television networks which objected to the dominance of the three major television networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC. The cable networks challenged the Fairness Doctrine as not being fair to them.

Out of the repeal came political radio commentator Rush Limbaugh’s new approach of venting “hatreds and resentments that had been considered unspeakable on the air” (Jill Lepore, “These Truths: A History of the United States”).

Limbaugh’s talk show immediately became successful as result. Conservative radio talk shows mushroomed from 240 in 1987 to 900 in 1992.

Roger Ailes, eventually the head of Fox News, took up Limbaugh’s approach arguing “that polling, market research, and the television ratings industry demonstrated that the most saleable (emphasis mine) pitches are simple, instant and emotional,” Lepore wrote.

The Fairness Doctrine was dead, replaced by what made the most money for the radio and cable news networks. Ailes had no background in journalism “and frequently said he did not respect journalists.” But he stated “We’d like to restore objectivity where we find it lacking. We expect to do fine, balanced journalism,” Lepore continued. These words ring hollow in the light of the $787 million court fine for lying to the public in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit.

As time passed, the airing of presidential debates was transferred from public service organizations like the League of Women Voters to “broadcasters, keen for the highest ratings, [who] would pander both to the candidates and especially to the audience in an attempt to make the debates as zippy and as watchable as possible…without regard to whether or not they would help voters learn about either the candidates or the issues,” according to Lepore.

The President Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky’s sex scandal and subsequent impeachment trial raised ratings in 1998 for all the news networks, but especially for Fox News, giving Fox a 400% increase in prime-time ratings.

Progressives and feminists defended Bill Clinton at almost all costs, portraying him as a victim, rather than as a sexual harasser of a young female employee. Toni Morrison portrayed Clinton as “our first black President”.

Instead of using reasoned arguments to oust political opponents, ethics violations became the go-to tactic. From 1970-1994 federal indictments rose from near zero to 1300 or more. Impeachments or talk of impeachment have become the rallying cry ever since President Clinton, continuing to our present president.

All the investigations have eroded faith in Congress, the presidency, and now the Supreme Court with its billionaire-sponsored vacations for conservative justices and use of federal staff to sell books for one of the Court’s progressive justices.

What if the Fairness Doctrine not been repealed? Would our nation be so beset with political polarization, hate speech, racism, and corruption?

My answer is that Reagan made a major mistake repealing the Fairness Doctrine.

Reagan had a perverted view of the role of government when he stated: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

Reagan should have followed more closely the Preamble to the Constitution that he swore to uphold:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

We could use a lot more “insur[ing] domestic tranquility” right now.