IS THERE A WAY OUT OF THIS MESS WE’RE IN? AN EDUCATOR’S GUESS

By Jerry D. Rose

Chris Hedges recently posted in Truth Dig and re-posted in Common Dreams an article that seems to go to the heart of a rational diagnosis of the political problem of our times.  He describes a political “culture” in which we allow our choices for political leaders, including that of President, to be dictated by electoral techniques that make the winning of elections of a piece with campaigns to sell commercial products, as Madison Avenue PR techniques come to dominate access to Pennsylvania Avenue and every other venue of political power. While great on diagnosis, the article is a bit short on prescription for recovery from the political malaise of today.  On the Common Dreams comment site, the pit bulls of progressivism who tend to post comments there weighed in with their contentious exchanges about what, if anything, ordinary citizens can do to counter the selling of the presidency and other political offices in which the public gets the same “junk politics” as it does in the commercially attractive packaging and extravagant claims of the tastiness of junk foods.  As a (retired) professional educator I entered the arena of this exchange with an appeal for public education as (one) avenue of exit strategy from the quagmire of compromised elections and politics…with a side acknowledgment of my “retirement” career, that of critical journalism.  I’m reproducing here my original comment and my exchange with a couple of those who responded to my post. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Jerry D Rose May 4th, 2009 3:58 pm:

I totally concur with those many posters here who see this essay as one of the finest ever pieces of Obama analysis: it locates the problem just where it belongs which is the “culture” in which we live and which, difficult as it may be, will have to be addressed at the level of civic re-education of our population: a No Citizen Left Behind kind of education. From this perspective, I disagree with those who thought the 2nd to last paragraph “sucked”: in fact it brings out a perspective on a cultural shift in our time from character to personality, a distinction captured long ago in David Riesmen’s The Lonely Crowd description of the emergence in our culture of an “other-directed” mentality.

If anyone mentioned this in this string I didn’t see it: There’s a very nice companion-piece of Obama 100 day analysis offered by John Pilger: he as well notes the “branding” nature of Obama’s popularity and, while he doesn’t quite cover the “buyer’s remorse” aspect of the “purchase” of that brand as well as does Hedges, he goes into some detail and “names names” of the mass media entities that have provided the “market” in which that brand has been promoted.

ooo

yachtie May 4th, 2009 6:25 pm:

Here is a piece of civic re-education that will leave you stunned: The ‘culture’ at work is the culture of sedition and terrorism. America is hijacked by a handful of ‘Good Men’. The US dollar is ransacked, Democracy is perverted, treason and subversion are committed. Read the links below and you will see who’s behind the curtain. The two documents (Part 1, Part 2) are NOT just another conspiracy theory. They are lengthy, in parts hard to follow but very well referenced. They will change the way you look at history, politics, finance, war and terrorism. You will find out about real terrorism. Many persons in these documents are well known; many are right now in pivotal positions of politics and finance. These people do shape YOUR life and that of our children right now. The details are researched and referenced. The consequences are beyond belief.

ooo

Jerry D Rose May 4th, 2009 8:14 pm:

Yachtie, thanks for these proposed additions to a syllabus for Civic Re-education 101. Your links provide me with my first exposure to the seemingly valuable works of E.P. Heidner, though I’ve scarcely been able to do anything so far but skim them quickly. My reading list has mostly been from writings of Peter Dale Scott and, more recently, Lost History by Robert Perry, Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer and the current works of William Blum especially Freeing the World to Death. And speaking of lost history, we’re not only “losing” it but never “making it” because the alternative media like CD are marginalized and any really critical “journalism” is practically gone from any main stream media for reporting the news of the day, busy as they are in promoting “brands” of Obama and others.

There is a lot of angst and anger in these CD postings in which people propose lines of action for the malaise of our times and others throw at them “sure, like that’s going to work” when someone proposes calling or writing letters to Obama or Congress, joining in street demonstrations or boycotts, “pressuring” Obama to make him more progressive, developing 3rd parties to counter the corporate duopoly, whatever. And in a way the critics of critics are right, and none of these actions is going to be “the” solution, but any one may be “a” solution that, cumulatively with other approaches, may move us in a progressive direction. Me, I’ve cast my public career on the pillars of public education and journalistic advocacy; and my little bit is a way-little-bit given my age (75), my health (average) and my desire to maintain a “life” with my family and my other extra-curricular interest, play acting and directing. Within those limitations I seek to publish my daily “progressive headline news” for my website, to blog my views for the like-minded, and post on these CD articles, with an occasional Letter to the Editor or Op-Ed column. The “education” thing finds me searching for an outlet; there’s no Civic Re-Education 101 in any college, high school or middle school that I know of but I have to believe there are still-active educators in “social studies” or still-active political clubs of students. Having spent my active career as a college sociology professor, I know that universities at least have (or did have) some holes in the cracks of orthodox curricula into which serious academic efforts to deal with unofficial and critical history and current events discussion could be crammed; if only we could find where those holes are. Any suggestions?

ooo

yachtie May 4th, 2009 9:42 pm:

You are right, there’s no civic re-education 101 in any college, high school or middle school and it’s ‘unhealthy’ to be too political at universities or even student clubs.

Obama will not be a savior. Obama, after all, was faculty at the University of Chicago Law School. They don’t hire liberals; at best they hire go-along to get-along corporate tools (see the two links) or people so immersed in their subjects they are apolitical and leave the structures of power alone. A liberal might sneak into a totally non-threatening field like art history, but not in the key areas of law, economics and business. The Board of Trustees of the University consists mostly of financiers and business executives, including the president of Goldman, Sachs & Co. They don’t want anyone using the prestige of their position at U of C to advocate ‘dangerous’ ideas. These are the people whom the chairs of departments have to please. Professors may have tenure, but otherwise the power of the trustees to set university policy has changed little since Upton Sinclair wrote The Goose-step circa 1921’.

It is great to see that people like you gain dynamic and momentum. And THIS is our only chance. Shout out loud. The country needs re-education and that can happen only through the freedom and the power of the Net. History has to be re-written, democracy has to be enabled with thinking citizens, and the monetary system has to be designed for the people and not the elite.

Suggestions how to get there?
Don’t ask me, ‘cause I don’t have a happy picture. I see lots of pitchforks.

ooo

rtdrury May 5th, 2009 3:17 am:

Sure. Community centers provide space you can reserve to present civics courses. Promotion via hand flyers and street mags and internet. Let the air out of the elites’ tires via such grass roots projects, heh heh. Soon enough, O’Bamba will be left stranded with his makeup artist.

ooo

Jerry D Rose May 5th, 2009 7:53 am:

rtdrury: Great ideas, thanks! Maybe we’ll actually get around (as they did for Viet Nam war “teach-ins”) to think again of educational efforts as “actions”. (We did one at Gainesville FL as a re-enactment of the Downing Street Memos, it went pretty well.)

……………………………………………………………..

Jerry D. Rose – Editor, The Sun State Activist