I was reading an article called "Blame Americans First," about how liberals are losing ground because people at the NYT and WashPO have been unable to note any of "Obama's achievements" and are worried about Conservative dissent. Matthew Continetti claims that liberals are blaming Americans for being stupid and voting against their interests. He writes, "Just because the public says the economy is important does not necessarily mean it has to support a stimulus measure that has added massively to the debt without much benefit."
I agree with this... somewhat. If the peoples main priority is the economy they should challenge what their government is putting out there. We have every right to be weary of any government plans, especially when most are in the pockets of wealthy corporations. Some Americans do have these concerns and are educated about the policies and theories of economic models, but most are not. It seems most people are completely misinformed about the current debates on health care and the economy. This is due to the mainstream corporate media, along with the so-called "Tea Party Movement." Claiming such extremes like the President aims to turn the US into a socialist society accomplishes nothing but putting fear in to people's minds. So instead of looking in to the benefits of a health care option run by the government, they cower out of a fear of a word that carries a lot of emotional baggage. The economy is much deeper than this, and I'm afraid that people are not being informed about just how complex these issues are. The only way to do it is to dig through the nonsense, which is hard for our fast paced, disinterested society. Articles like the one by Matthew Continetti reflects the dumbing down of information that exists to create fear among an already panicky nation.
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but how do we educate people? do we use the news programs that corporations own or do we use money we don't have to employ teachers (most of whom aren't educated on the issue either)?
ReplyDeletewhat trumps fear is deep, abiding hope. How do we get that for free and allow ourselves to trust it if it comes so cheaply?
(Re: education, you need to continue my political education. Surprisingly, I actually understood what you wrote this time around so you must be getting somewhere)
I think that instead of bureaucrats controlling education policies, we need intelligent professional education researches at the head of education policy making. But in order to do this, we need an overhaul of the entire system that gives those types of jobs to the friends of politicians.
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