If you ever wondered why the American population has so many supporters of performers in politics, just review the work of Canadian media researcher Marshall McLuhan. He coined the aphorism "the medium is the message". Whether its television, radio, computers, smart phones, or other electronics, they have induced in the republic a somnambulism about content, character, religion, sociology, art and other areas where inputs are accepted without investigation or verification. As long as a particular medium supports your notions of the world, you accept that input and medium without critical thought.
So no subject is immune from acceptance by those with little curiosity, little resistance, scant independent verification and absorbs our brains and memories given any plausible (sometimes fictional) conclusions by someone else. So judging by the last persidential election, 2020, there are approximately 70 million obvious believers out of 150 million voting citizens that belong to McCluhan. That leads to a conclusion that only with reduction in those media sources that are not straight or truthful will the nation's malaise in politics, specifically GOP adherents, diminish and normal American democracy ascend to its prior routine negligence.
Fulfilling the needs of the public, ala the Federal Constitution Preamble's provide for the common defense and especially promote the general welfare will fall to those of us who continue critical thinking about local, state and national affairs. Everything else is ignored by those in office who also sleepwalk through life or simply want to show an image of governance. The problem is that extreme right governance mistakes this medium is message concept for a dictatorial yearning, a yen for authoritarianism, a search for someone to give all our rights and responsibilities to, someone who can think and act for supporters and let them ignore everything but their own notions of pursuits of happiness.
And there are many factors that support such lackadaisical politics. In the Southwest and Plains states, posse comitatus still rules, the concept that there is no law above the county Sheriff and such local law. The GOP forever has the concept of 'falling in line' with politicians, not independent thinking for the masses. Many people are ill educated to the ongoing needs of people to watch their leaders for missteps in democracy: incomplete, faulty or misguided education and teaching. Some are just totally absorbed in living their lives, say at at low or impoverished level, isolated from social interaction or media, or too affluent to bother. Some media types, not to mention politicians, are just populist panderers to make a commercial buck or live an easy life sponging off the public weal. And there are the power grabbers who for selfish reasons want to rule the roost, soak the public ala grifting, or dominate in their chosen domains, ala domestic relations. Then there are the religious leaders who pull their Gospel messages because telling the entire truth would cost them their churches. And there are many more facets of American life that promote abdicating voter attention to business and relying on supposed trustworthy others.
Absent 1. education on civic responsibility in schools and real world; 2. teaching critical thinking that applies to all parts of the American experience, especially politics; 3. improving the basic lot and living of millions in Appalachia, separatist living arrangements, meaning economics that work for all; 4. limiting media to fair and balanced or verified truth concepts by law; 5. enforcing laws against corruption in political office; 6. elevating accountability in every area of life, leaving social promotions, participation awards, unwarranted praise, that is more truth and justice we are destined to continue struggling to meet stated governance documents Declaration of Independence and Constitution which assist us toward truth, justice and the preferred American way (apologies to Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster).
Great insights, as usual, Bill. A reminder that you are welcome at any time to have me post a piece as a stand-alone essay rather than a reply. I do have a small audience, but it's a good way to memorialize your thoughts.
Nic, I appreciate your like, your comment and your invitation. I realize my 'comments' are of a length and depth that resemble stand-alone essays. In the past, more than one publisher/writer has asked to take my stuff and give me 'award' kudos for them or edit a series of comments on a topic for publication giving me the credit: Washington Post; New York Times; Wall Street Journal; Writers Blog; James Call and even foreigners. I've even been invited to write the equivalent of a book on a given topic on teaching techniques: Ford Foundation and Iran National Education Department. I find it easier to respond to good essays like yours or correct the record on other blogs with my essays. My 'problem' is writing as a former editor, reporter and policy writer I attempt to be brief and technical. I don't have your creative nature to make prose more attractive. I do invite you to send me a list of concerns to which I might also be attracted and maybe generate something you might publish with my byline. We can talk about this later.
I can suggest a topic of mutual interest on which you are very much an expert- public education. I start most of my pieces by writing everything, then whittling it down. I have a number of unfinished pieces. The piece on public education (https://1hundredsixty8.substack.com/publish/post/64966664?back=%2Fpublish%2Fposts%2Fdrafts) has just a beginning. The quote at the very beginning summarizes my ideas on the role of education in a democracy. My goals were to 1) emphasize its importance 2)discuss the erosion of public ed in the US since the 1960s and 3)offers some ideas on reinvigorating public ed.
Let me know if you'd be willing to pursue this.
Also, I sent you an email last week regarding Thanksgiving. I know Cynthia and Roger are headed up north to spend the holiday with family. If you do not have plans or a place to be, you are welcome to join us here in Cape Coral. We have a place for you to stay: Barbara and her nephew own another condo in this building, and it is unoccupied until mid-December.
It would be our pleasure to have you as a guest. We will have at least one other person here.
My interest and degree and practice in education is operations, not history or theory or projections. When I see articles from the right and center, my motivation is ordinarily to describe a best practice, one that I've done myself or seen first-hand and know that works. Actually from grad school to the end of my career 17 years ago, I've responded to crackpot attacks on 'what exists' and 'what attacks' the things that go on in classrooms, school and districts, not to mention higher education coursework, so nutsy thinking is challenged. That includes public interference in education like the current right wing 'Moms for Education' (if that's the name) who ban or abolish books, charter schools that are not accountable to school boards (ordinarily fronted by bigots in religion and race), or changes to current schooling like the DeVos attempts to abolish public schools. But it also extends to higher education in teacher training that doesn't train for individualizing classroom instruction, use psychology for motivating or disciplining unruly kids, and leadership instruction that doesn't address planning and operations to smooth the year to year challenges of systems with capital construction, budgeting and shoddy accountability for examples. I'm oriented to handbook/howto technical writing that doesn't fit your important mold of articles.
For example, Ford Foundation asked me to write and publish in their Great Schools study, tips for effective beginning algebra instruction to upgrade a more difficult subject. Responding to another newspaper comment I wrote, I was contacted by one of the top educators in Iran's national education system to install a system of teaching accountability I used in New Jersey. And untold teachers over the years have sought my advice on various techniques of classroom management and in-service instruction to avoid a principal's simply reading newsletters for faculty meetings. In one case I showed a moribund school board in Louisiana being challenged by local industry and business to improve schools how to brainstorm for new ideas and policies. And another parish there wanted me to install national PTA Parent Teacher Association units in all schools for the assets that affiliation provides to school teaching and learning with rewards at local, state and national levels. That's a practical approach to schools and teachers at all levels that's nitty gritty but not in the vein of your good essays in education and other domains.
So I'll continue to read and respond to your pieces in my way, but think it's not what you are looking for.
If you ever wondered why the American population has so many supporters of performers in politics, just review the work of Canadian media researcher Marshall McLuhan. He coined the aphorism "the medium is the message". Whether its television, radio, computers, smart phones, or other electronics, they have induced in the republic a somnambulism about content, character, religion, sociology, art and other areas where inputs are accepted without investigation or verification. As long as a particular medium supports your notions of the world, you accept that input and medium without critical thought.
So no subject is immune from acceptance by those with little curiosity, little resistance, scant independent verification and absorbs our brains and memories given any plausible (sometimes fictional) conclusions by someone else. So judging by the last persidential election, 2020, there are approximately 70 million obvious believers out of 150 million voting citizens that belong to McCluhan. That leads to a conclusion that only with reduction in those media sources that are not straight or truthful will the nation's malaise in politics, specifically GOP adherents, diminish and normal American democracy ascend to its prior routine negligence.
Fulfilling the needs of the public, ala the Federal Constitution Preamble's provide for the common defense and especially promote the general welfare will fall to those of us who continue critical thinking about local, state and national affairs. Everything else is ignored by those in office who also sleepwalk through life or simply want to show an image of governance. The problem is that extreme right governance mistakes this medium is message concept for a dictatorial yearning, a yen for authoritarianism, a search for someone to give all our rights and responsibilities to, someone who can think and act for supporters and let them ignore everything but their own notions of pursuits of happiness.
And there are many factors that support such lackadaisical politics. In the Southwest and Plains states, posse comitatus still rules, the concept that there is no law above the county Sheriff and such local law. The GOP forever has the concept of 'falling in line' with politicians, not independent thinking for the masses. Many people are ill educated to the ongoing needs of people to watch their leaders for missteps in democracy: incomplete, faulty or misguided education and teaching. Some are just totally absorbed in living their lives, say at at low or impoverished level, isolated from social interaction or media, or too affluent to bother. Some media types, not to mention politicians, are just populist panderers to make a commercial buck or live an easy life sponging off the public weal. And there are the power grabbers who for selfish reasons want to rule the roost, soak the public ala grifting, or dominate in their chosen domains, ala domestic relations. Then there are the religious leaders who pull their Gospel messages because telling the entire truth would cost them their churches. And there are many more facets of American life that promote abdicating voter attention to business and relying on supposed trustworthy others.
Absent 1. education on civic responsibility in schools and real world; 2. teaching critical thinking that applies to all parts of the American experience, especially politics; 3. improving the basic lot and living of millions in Appalachia, separatist living arrangements, meaning economics that work for all; 4. limiting media to fair and balanced or verified truth concepts by law; 5. enforcing laws against corruption in political office; 6. elevating accountability in every area of life, leaving social promotions, participation awards, unwarranted praise, that is more truth and justice we are destined to continue struggling to meet stated governance documents Declaration of Independence and Constitution which assist us toward truth, justice and the preferred American way (apologies to Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster).
Great insights, as usual, Bill. A reminder that you are welcome at any time to have me post a piece as a stand-alone essay rather than a reply. I do have a small audience, but it's a good way to memorialize your thoughts.
Nic, I appreciate your like, your comment and your invitation. I realize my 'comments' are of a length and depth that resemble stand-alone essays. In the past, more than one publisher/writer has asked to take my stuff and give me 'award' kudos for them or edit a series of comments on a topic for publication giving me the credit: Washington Post; New York Times; Wall Street Journal; Writers Blog; James Call and even foreigners. I've even been invited to write the equivalent of a book on a given topic on teaching techniques: Ford Foundation and Iran National Education Department. I find it easier to respond to good essays like yours or correct the record on other blogs with my essays. My 'problem' is writing as a former editor, reporter and policy writer I attempt to be brief and technical. I don't have your creative nature to make prose more attractive. I do invite you to send me a list of concerns to which I might also be attracted and maybe generate something you might publish with my byline. We can talk about this later.
I can suggest a topic of mutual interest on which you are very much an expert- public education. I start most of my pieces by writing everything, then whittling it down. I have a number of unfinished pieces. The piece on public education (https://1hundredsixty8.substack.com/publish/post/64966664?back=%2Fpublish%2Fposts%2Fdrafts) has just a beginning. The quote at the very beginning summarizes my ideas on the role of education in a democracy. My goals were to 1) emphasize its importance 2)discuss the erosion of public ed in the US since the 1960s and 3)offers some ideas on reinvigorating public ed.
Let me know if you'd be willing to pursue this.
Also, I sent you an email last week regarding Thanksgiving. I know Cynthia and Roger are headed up north to spend the holiday with family. If you do not have plans or a place to be, you are welcome to join us here in Cape Coral. We have a place for you to stay: Barbara and her nephew own another condo in this building, and it is unoccupied until mid-December.
It would be our pleasure to have you as a guest. We will have at least one other person here.
Nic
Hey Nic,
My interest and degree and practice in education is operations, not history or theory or projections. When I see articles from the right and center, my motivation is ordinarily to describe a best practice, one that I've done myself or seen first-hand and know that works. Actually from grad school to the end of my career 17 years ago, I've responded to crackpot attacks on 'what exists' and 'what attacks' the things that go on in classrooms, school and districts, not to mention higher education coursework, so nutsy thinking is challenged. That includes public interference in education like the current right wing 'Moms for Education' (if that's the name) who ban or abolish books, charter schools that are not accountable to school boards (ordinarily fronted by bigots in religion and race), or changes to current schooling like the DeVos attempts to abolish public schools. But it also extends to higher education in teacher training that doesn't train for individualizing classroom instruction, use psychology for motivating or disciplining unruly kids, and leadership instruction that doesn't address planning and operations to smooth the year to year challenges of systems with capital construction, budgeting and shoddy accountability for examples. I'm oriented to handbook/howto technical writing that doesn't fit your important mold of articles.
For example, Ford Foundation asked me to write and publish in their Great Schools study, tips for effective beginning algebra instruction to upgrade a more difficult subject. Responding to another newspaper comment I wrote, I was contacted by one of the top educators in Iran's national education system to install a system of teaching accountability I used in New Jersey. And untold teachers over the years have sought my advice on various techniques of classroom management and in-service instruction to avoid a principal's simply reading newsletters for faculty meetings. In one case I showed a moribund school board in Louisiana being challenged by local industry and business to improve schools how to brainstorm for new ideas and policies. And another parish there wanted me to install national PTA Parent Teacher Association units in all schools for the assets that affiliation provides to school teaching and learning with rewards at local, state and national levels. That's a practical approach to schools and teachers at all levels that's nitty gritty but not in the vein of your good essays in education and other domains.
So I'll continue to read and respond to your pieces in my way, but think it's not what you are looking for.
Bill