Is there a such thing as unbiased writing?

BY ZEP

To this simple question, I will provide a simple answer. NO!

At some point, we have complained about bias in our media (newspapers, television, radio etc...). Despite the journalistic ideal of "objectivity", every story (that's right, EVERY story) is influenced by the attitudes and backgrounds of its writers. Not all bias is deliberate, but it is present in some shape or form. Writers have tried to rid themselves of bias for years, resulting in pieces that bounce back and forth over the imaginary line of "spotless writing". Attempting to eliminate bias altogther will only cause your piece to deflate under the pressure to be objective.

A certain supply teacher once told me that the only area that is uncontaminated by bias is that of "objective truth" or "eternal principles". An example of this would be in the Ten Commandments. These Commandments held "eternal principles" that are also followed by other religions, such as "Honour your father and mother", "Thou shall not steal" or "Thou shall not commit adultery". Who told us to follow these principles? Moses did, supposedly directed by God. Bias is evident here, because not everyone in this world believes in Moses, or God, or anything to do with religion, yet people go on with their lives accepting these principles as facts without there being any proof of it being factual at all. There is no proof that God exists, or that he even spoke to Moses on top of a mountain raging with lightning. The only source we have telling us these stories is the Bible, which is a contradicting and biased book in itself. Religion is an entity based on one thing: Belief. Your belief depends on your opinion. What is the one thing that leads to bias in writing? Opinions. It's a small world, isn't it?

The writer needs to come to accept the REAL facts; you cannot eliminate bias in your writing, and that you need some form of opinion in order to make your piece original. Neutrality and o-objectivity are not options, because trying to stay indifferent will only serve to make your piece boring and unoriginal.