Vote for Me in '08
If you know me reasonably well, you'd know that I am as non-political as they come. However, our nation's current political climate is making me question what the heck is going on around here. I was listening to NPR today and they were doing a bit on accusations that the military was torturing detainees. This guy calls in from central
The worse part is that this guy's town is not alone in its thinking. Half way across the country, where I live, there was news the other day of yet another cross burning. I don't often watch the news, because it's filled with such negativity and I do not think it presents an accurate portrayal of our world, but something like that should never, ever happen. What's to say of our society that we produce such thinking? And what's to do about it?
I mean, how could so many people have fallen off the school bus to have never gotten an education? Or is this the kind of education people receive in schools? I still dont believe the solution is to be found in the political process. Maybe society should be restructured so that our best and brightest do not only become doctors and lawyers, but school teachers, too. Maybe that's a place to start. That, and hugs. More hugs.
posted by Donkey Boy at Tuesday, December 13, 2005
4 Comments:
i hear you, b, but i think i'm less hopeful that the solution is education-- unless we define that education fairly narrowly, and more narrowly than most would allow. i think it's possible to be an "educated" bigot. anyway, let's hang out soon, i'll call you for lunch or something in the next couple of days. i leave for break next week.
I don't watch the news because I think it's sensationalistic and mostly focuses on things that don't really matter...but to say it's not an accurate portrayal of our world? That's a pretty bold statement.
Perhaps what is shown on the news isn't an accurate portrayal.
I think what it shown BY the news, and by the problems that you and I share with it...I think that's an accurate portrayal.
And I, as always, agree that the solution isn't found in politics. It can, however, start with policy. And that's what makes politics relevant. I hate politics but love policy...I wish that we didn't have to worry about keeping up appearances, and I try to convince my boss of this all the time. I'm sure you can imagine how well that conversation goes.
sure, it's true one can be an educated bigot. education does have the general tendancy to liberalize though. i dont mean that politically, although that's usually the case, as well. and like most disputes, there is a definitional concern. my point was not to outline a clear solution, so much as to suggest a starting point. lunch sounds good. be sure to bring your definition and your cs lewis handbook.
i'm not sure i quite understand the distinction you're trying to make with regard to whether or not the news is accurate. to flesh out my understanding a little, i think i agree with your boy michael moore that there's a good deal of fear mongering that goes on in the news. while he would say that newsmakers do it for profit, i'm not totally sold on the idea. maybe people want to be scared and the media caters to that. there's a line from a poem that goes something like 'just pretend your fear is alertness and be thankful for it.' fear may have an adaptive quality like that, which may actually help people. if that were true, the news would be beneficial. maybe the profit is just a side effect. that unlikely possibility notwithstanding, the news purports to accurately reflect the world. for instance, if you were to ask a person which is more "real" - fiction or the nightly news? most would say the nightly news. we're conditioned to think so. even when i was a kid growing up, my pneumonic for remembering what fiction meant was 'Fiction is Fake' as opposed to non-fiction, like the news, which was 'real.' however, i find many novels to be more 'true to life' than i do the nightly news. without concerning ourselves with why the news is so, i think it's undisputable that the news is more negative than daily living, far more so.
i dont quite understand your distinction between policy and politics. i think of politics as the chosen vehicle for policy. they two are yoked together in my mind and i'm not sure i can untangle them. how do you see them related?
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