dagblog - Comments for "Stuff I Want to Learn: Boogey Boogey Boogey"

I've long come to suspect the

DF — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:22:00 +0000

In reply to Stuff I Want to Learn: Boogey Boogey Boogey

I've long come to suspect the whole concept of a "national discussion." I think it's hogwash. People write, people read, people talk, people listen, but this whole thing about discussing the issues of the day at a national level is pretty much a sham because what is really meant by this is the superficial shit that is seen on television, primarily on national network and cable television programs. Except all of that stuff is bought and paid for by a particular sector of society. So it's nothing like anything that I would call a discussion without a sneer on my face.

And fear always works. Get the limbic system firing over-time so the cerebral cortex can't compete.

EDIT: One more thing - Donal alludes above to the detiorating economic conditions in America. It's been decades in the making, but the American middle class does seem to have forces aligned against it. Even so, this is a process that has moved at a glacial pace and what has to be recognized is how rich Americans still are relative to the rest of the world. So, if by "problems" you refer to the really big issues that must be reckoned with, say long-term energy policy, nearly any serious and adult discussion will require that people are willing to 1.) take responsibility for how they act right now and 2.) at least entertain a willingness to make some changes (and possibly even outright sacrifices). People frequently avoid doing those things. Like Bush the Elder famously quipped, "The American way of life is not negotiable."

I was gonna concur, but

quinn esq — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:22:24 +0000

In reply to I don't believe they were

I was gonna concur, but apparently that word's taken for the evening.

In which case, I disagree.

Vehemently.

And your mother.

Completely agree. Americans

quinn esq — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:21:13 +0000

In reply to Well O, ithink it has to do

Completely agree. Americans need to gown up. WAY more than they do.

I tell you cmaukonen, you are a misspelling genius.

(And if it's deliberate, don't tell me.)

I concur.

Austin Train — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:55:06 +0000

In reply to I don't believe they were

I concur.

I don't believe they were

Beetlejuice — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:54:08 +0000

In reply to "What you should know about

I don't believe they were fishing for people with very much intelligence. Just enough of them that vote and can turn an election in their favor. Not hard to do with simple minds who are looking for an excuse to justify their beliefs.

"What you should know about

Austin Train — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:45:39 +0000

In reply to There's so much static on the

"What you should know about THE Islam" would have told me that without watching even a frame of it.

That phrasing is not the mark of a serious work.

There's so much static on the

Beetlejuice — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:39:56 +0000

In reply to But the divide and conquer

There's so much static on the airwaves it's difficult to determine if what you're hearing is fact based or fact-twisted to support the conclusion. For instance, I was searching for a documentary on the Quran by an Australian broadcasting group like our PBS when I found one titled...What you should know about the Islam. After watching 20 minutes of it, I had a firm understanding what I should know about Islam was what the authors of the film thought was bad about Islam. Now take that to the next step...health care reform, social security, unemployment, Bush tax cuts and so forth. Fill the airwaves with authentic looking material...wrap your message into the fabric of the myth the viewer wants to believe and you just made a sale that gets paid in full on election day.

True, and news delivery can

Donal — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 04:40:47 +0000

In reply to But the divide and conquer

True, and news delivery can be tightly marketed to tell groups what they already want to hear.

But the divide and conquer

Orlando — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 04:18:21 +0000

In reply to I think people are slipping

But the divide and conquer strategy in that regard hasn't ever really gone out of style. There are so many people who just don't pay attention to anything that isn't new-penny shiny. I have a feeling it's as a result of a number of factors. I think individual economic decline is one of them, as is the decline in quality of education, or the fact that the eduction system has not changed to meet the demands of a post-manufacturing economy.

Or themselves.

cmaukonen — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:59:41 +0000

In reply to I think people are slipping

Or themselves.