"Like"

“Like” it or not, we are now in an age of mass communication, available to just about everybody who lives in any half-way modern society. What differentiates this age of mass communication from its founding fathers in the radio and television electronic age of mass communication is that now anybody can participate. The Internet gave birth to new programs and new platforms that permit all of us to have a voice capable of going around the globe in a matter of seconds. Think how far we’ve come in just a mere half century, when mass communication consisted of worldwide distribution of a newspaper-that was actually made of paper and was physically transported by trains, planes, or trucks to reach the masses. Then came the electronic age of radio, followed by television. In the beginning even television was limited to landlocked broadcasts dependent on transmitter  relay stations. Eventually intercontinental cable and fiber-optic cable cut down the time of mass broadcasts, but it was nothing compared to today’s split-second digital micro-wave technology that works through a complicated systems of satellite relays. Really remarkable!! And who knows what will be next in the future of communication technology.

I often stand back in complete awe at the amount of information we have available to us via the Internet. Mankind has never experienced this type of broad access to so much information. Mankind has never been able to share information so widely or with so much speed. I am not one to criticize the Internet, or the social media networks that came into existence as the natural outgrowth of computer technology. Far from it- I believe this is transformative and will mark a real advance for humanity. It would be hypocritical of me to denounce these advances, considering I use them with great pleasure and, in fact am using it now to share this essay. But that is not to say that I’m completely comfortable with all ways it is used, or comfortable with some of the unintended consequences these technologies have brought us.

I tend to think that we are somewhat like young children with a fancy new toy we haven’t totally figured out just yet. We seem to be fumbling around with the parts without determining how it all goes together, and how it works. We have something new and very exciting, but we haven’t discovered how to integrate it into our lives in healthy ways. So we just keep experimenting with our new toy trying to have it make sense and figure out better ways to use it. Perhaps our fascination with the speed and availability of communications has caused us to turn away from other intellectual pursuits and habits we engaged in before these technologies took our attention. I see these kinds of issues played out in places like Facebook. I don’t want to pick on Facebook, but it seems Facebook is the best example of mass communication without the benefit of old-fashioned intellectual integrity.

 I got to thinking how easy it is to see a post put up by a Facebook “friend” or even a friend-of-a-friend who just hits that “like” button without much thought. When I first started using Facebook it was almost entirely made up of posts from family and friends who were sharing some item from their personal lives. They might share family photos, family news, or just personal tidbits. In that vein, Facebook became the MySpace for the masses and grew into a huge sensation- relatively easy to use, and widely popular. Networks of friends and friends-of-friends expanded our social reach in some good ways. It enabled us to be in touch with old friends and acquaintances from long ago or far away. I have noticed however how Facebook is now populated with many more commercial, political, or “issue” posts. And I suppose that’s OK too. These “issue” posts have actually been able to mobilize worthy social movements that might not have otherwise never gotten off the ground, let alone ever been recognized. Facebook enables us to see things that are of interest to us and reflect our own desires for information, activities, or points-of-view. I have a few that I follow with regularity too.

Of concern are posts that pop up on my page from friends who have hit that “like” button, or the “share” button, and whom I suspect have not thoroughly checked out the source material behind the posts. As easy as Facebook can be to share information, it can easily be coopted by unscrupulous or down-right offensive sites which count on the user just seeing the single message and not understanding the people and the underlying message that spawned it. I’m particularly sensitive to some conservative political messages, but I know that the same thing can happen with progressive sites too. For example, each time I see a post that calls for us to “Impeach Obama” or "take back our Country", I find myself clicking the original source site to see what they are really espousing. Sadly, I often find openly racist or offensive messaging on the original site. I won’t give specific examples in this essay as I don’t want to offend any Facebook friends who most probably have spread these ideas unintentionally. I have also seen sites that seem to put out an otherwise innocuous message only to dig deeper and see violent or misogynistic material. In another example some of the sites that I prefer occasionally have posts that I won’t “share” or “like” because I know the source might go too far for some- or  it just doesn’t truly reflect my thinking.  For example, I won’t share or “like” some post on my page that suggests “religion is the root of all evil”. First of all, “all’ is a big word and I don’t want to misuse it-  and even though I have my own thoughts on the matter, I find it intellectually dishonest and just plain lazy to express my thoughts on such a complex topic in one slogan I didn’t even write. 

I’m always a bit saddened when I see a post from a Facebook friend that contains offensive, racist, or violent messages. I go back and forth as to whether I should “Unfriend” the sender or just let it be. I truly don’t want that kind of message on my page, and I try to believe the sender probably just didn’t know what they were posting. But I know too that we should all be responsible about what we post. It is one of the dilemmas of social relationships this new technology has given us.

One of the unfortunate by-products of this new mass communication and sites like Facebook is that it actually encourages us to be lazy. We are seduced into pushing that “like” button because it is easy to be taken in by a slogan and just say to all of our friends and their friends, “yea, that sounds good to me- and I’m letting you know it”. Perhaps we have just come to the place in the Internet world where there is so much information- so many opinions that we simply won’t take the time or don’t have the time to dig just a little bit deeper for the true messages and meanings.

In that old-fashioned world of intellectual integrity I mentioned above, bad ideas or false information exited then too, but they didn’t spread quite so fast because the mechanics of mass communication gave us an opportunity to check things out and rethink ideas before they got out there too far to retrieve. Another very unfortunate by-product of the computer age of mass communication is the growing belief that every idea or thought is just as valid as every other idea or thought. After all, one might come to believe that anything that CAN be put out there has equivalent validity to anything else simply because it’s out there too. In the days of real journalism, reporters had to answer to editors who demanded to know the sources and confirm that they were credible. Those of us who remember the Watergate era know that Woodward and Bernstein investigated for months before Ben Bradlee would let them go to print. Now anyone with a laptop or an iPhone is instantly published. Ideas that are widespread come to be believed based on the scope of their disbursement, rather than the quality of the information. We are all subject to the manipulation of ideas such a world makes possible. Recently  I heard an excerpt of a speech the President made wherein he was making statements (seemingly) offensive and insulting to the middle class. These excerpts were making their way around the Internet and social media as “proof” of the President’s “disdain” for the American people. As it turns out the excerpts were taken totally out of context and the President was actually arguing the opposite point.  But such is the way of instant mass communications- and the purveyors of these hoaxes knew it.

In this brave new world of the Internet, Facebook, and instant mass communication it would good to stop a moment and consider how we can blend these new technologies with traditional ways of thinking and educating. In particular, it is vitally important in this new age of technology to resurrect the art of critical thinking. Our children are incredibly adept at managing the technology of the day. It’s an old joke, that if you want to learn how your new computer works, just ask a 9 year-old kid! As we have come to rely on the technology and “reformed” education to enable our children to pass the standardized competency tests we have left many of the thinking and reasoning skills by the side of the road. They just aren’t taught. To give a recent example that speaks to the lack of reasoning ability, and also speaks to the creation of false equivalencies, consider the issue of climate change. 99 out of a hundred climate scientists have collected data to show man’s activities (with fossil fuels- and greenhouse gases) is creating accelerated and devastating climate change. Instead of accepting the overwhelming data, the fossil fuel industries (and Rush Limbaugh) insist it’s a hoax. They say, “don’t believe the data-don’t believe that putting hundreds of millions of tons of chemicals and pollutants in the air every year will actually change the air. Instead believe the one guy out of a hundred (who works for us) who says it isn’t so.” That is not reasonable- and one out of a hundred is not equivalency. But our use of mass communication methods suggests it is.

I’m hoping our wisdom will begin to catch up to our technology. I’m fairly confident it will, as it always has. A case in point- we knew how to transplant a human heart before we knew how to make wise decisions about when to do it, and who we should do it for. Information and knowledge will be the currency of the future. If we begin to look at the sources, dig a bit deeper, use our reasoning abilities, and teach our children the lost art of critical thinking; questioning the assumptions of others and challenging our own assumptions; our communications and our relationships with nature and each other will surely improve. That’s something we can all “like”. 

Thanks for looking in.

The Summer of Our Discontent

The first lines of Shakespeare’s Richard III read “ Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this son of York; All the clouds that low’r’d upon our house, In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.”  For those of us who are living this "summer of discontent", we might think  Shakespeare had his seasons a bit mixed up.

I have not written anything- not engaged in my little hobby for several months now. One reason for the hiatus was the need to take a rest from it. But to be honest, I’ve begun to write this essay several times over the last couple of weeks, and after a paragraph or two I just needed to stop. I was trying to capture some of the malaise and negativity of these last months in a way that I could expound upon them in an interesting, or (even) hopeful way. I discovered that I was simply overwhelmed at the thought of trying to make sense of these last few months in current events. I didn't want to just put down on paper that which seemed so obvious, yet so hopelessly inescapable, as it seemed it would just part of the noise. But, I have now given in to the habit of writing once again. With that said, I will try to put my own different thoughts to this summer of discontent.

To say we are now living through a period of total dysfunction is an understatement. For many of us the common reference here is the dysfunction of government. I am, more and more, coming to believe that the dysfunction in government is nothing more that the reflection of the dysfunction in us. Each time I see some ridiculous politician jump head-first into nonsense pool, I stop and ask myself why we don’t react and voice objections to the hate-filled talk and demand more character from those who represent us. At present, I am loath to think that anything I hear from my Congressperson actually represents my thoughts, or useful thoughts of any kind. I am often disappointed to hear nothing from my two Senators, even though I know they hold positions much more akin to my own. I see a President who is virtually helpless to manage this form of government, not because he isn’t competent; but because our form of government requires that Congress and the Courts do their parts too. So as I look at the troubles of the day, I’m convinced that the dysfunction comes from a Congress who does nothing, and from us who does nothing in response.

Two events occurring this summer, in my view represent the worst in our character. The first was the release of Bowe Bergdahl from his captors in Afghanistan. Normally Americans would rejoice in the return of an American servicemen from POW status. Normally we would rally behind that person and his family. I was shocked that his release caused an immediate reaction from the right-wing politicians and the right-wing talk radio hate machine. These types are usually adamantly in support of our military. But in this age of hating the President above all else, they used this singular issue to turn on the President, and on Bergdahl himself. Without the benefit of any facts at all- the hate machine began to manufacture all kinds of scenarios to explain why Bowe was a traitor and not worth the prisoners at Guantanamo we traded to get him back. Number 1: We have no idea yet how he ended up in enemy hands. If it is true he deserted, that will come out.  But so far the investigation is just getting underway. Let’s remember that in war many realities get muddled and it is unfair to judge until we can sort out the facts. If you have any doubts about how loyalty works in war, just remember that when Senator John McCain was a POW they broke him too. He signed the statements they gave him-but we gave him and many like him the benefit of the doubt because we understood what they went through. In Bowe’s case the Obama hatred factor has changed our perspective on supporting our servicemen. Number 2: The criticisms of the President over the prisoner exchange are just plain wrong and once again based on the idea that anything this President does is automatically met with hostile criticism. The Republicans argued that this exchange would lead to more hostage taking. Really? Are we to believe that until this particular exchange enemy fighters hadn’t already figured that out? The Republicans also argued that the release of the five “detainees” would cause Armageddon. One of the problems with a “war on terror” is that we get easily terrorized. The last Administration was expert at scaring us. I ask, should the most powerful, technically advanced and most well-armed, largest and most heavily funded military in the history of mankind quake at the thought of five guys who hate us being out in the world, living in primitive societies? Should we base the military and political policy of the only global super-power on such small potatoes because we are now scared of anyone called “terrorist”? -Lindsay Graham and John McCain aside. Be honest, is there one mother or father in this country, Democrat or Republican, who would not have wanted President Obama to trade five (or ten- or twenty) terrorist “detainees” to get their son or daughter back? Our friends the Isrealis do it regularly- without the childish criticisms we saw in this case. Only in an environment where this President can do no right, is this even tolerable to discuss. The Bergdahl affair is a shameful example of how hatred has changed our national character.

As we moved through the summer of discontent we saw the emergence of thousands of children crossing our southern border and seeking refuge from daily terror in Central America. The immigration problem is complex and requires our best thoughts to resolve it. But two things occurred to me as I watched this human tragedy unfold. First, Congress has a workable bill on comprehensive immigration reform crafted by Republicans in the Senate. It has the votes to pass the House, but it won’t be voted on because the Speaker (alone) won’t allow it for purely political reasons. To complain about the President- then not do their duty is the height of cowardliness. Secondly, I was heart-sick to see affluent white people stand in the way of busses filled with frightened children, screaming at them and waving signs with hate-filled messages. These children became surrogates for hatred of President Obama however tragically misplaced. But for those who constantly insist this is a Christian country- this was  a most  un-Christian way to behave. I felt embarrassed at the way some our fellow citizens acted toward these children. More embarrassing yet is that Congress did nothing except complain- then leave for an extended vacation. They call Obama the Imperial President, but when the chips were down they took off and said, “you handle it”. Cowards to the end.

This summer of discontent is not only filled with domestic issues, gone unaddressed by a negligent Congress, it is also a time of deep international tensions. Aggression in the Ukraine gave the Republicans more reasons to damn the President, as if there is anything he do short of going to war alone against Russia. Remember Europe is not with us entirely on this, and more than half the people of Ukraine want to affiliate with Russia. Would we once again invade a land to liberate those who don’t want to be liberated and would only side with our enemies in the end? The Republicans are long on criticism, but have not provided a single idea on how to handle this any better. If I missed their idea somewhere along the way please let me know.

On to Iraq. In June Iraq began to be overrun by ISIS, once again leading to massive discontent with the President. In turn, each Republican to come before the camera has laid this issue squarely at Mr. Obama’s feet. Oh, what short memories we have. The UN did not approve of President Bush’s invasion, as it could find no justification. Many Democrats did not approve, even though they gave him his way. Many career diplomats and international experts argued that invading a country that did not invade us was bad policy and would eventually destabilize the entire region. We now have a totally destabilized region in the Middle East. Obama is blamed for pulling out too soon. There’s that poor memory again. The Status of Forces Agreement timetable was agreed to by the Bush Administration. Even if Mr. Obama could have changed it, what would he have changed? Given the instability that comes with hundreds of years of religious tribalism, we would have to remain in Iraq forever.  This country would not stand for that. The mistake was not the way we got out- the mistake was the way we got in. But again in this era of “Blame Obama” our recall and our reasoning have taken the summer off. My fear is that we will be pulled steadily back into a conflict we cannot resolve, all because there's oil there. I sometimes wish our motives were more genuinely humanitarian, instead of humanitarian when it suits us.

This horrible summer, punctuated by downed airplanes, political turmoil, War in the Gaza Strip, unrest in the Ukraine, Ebola outbreaks in West Africa, civil war in Syria and Iraq, homeless and uncared-for Veterans at home, and racially charged violence in our streets between the police and our citizens have truly made this the summer of our discontent. But we must reject the easy and popular notion that all of this unrest and trouble can be blamed on the President, as the Republicans would have us believe. That is simply the thinking of the political hucksters who want us to practice the art of blaming and the art of redemption in one quick and easy sound bite. Real solutions require deeper thinking and real analysis. One election or one President cannot be blamed for the problems we face today, and cannot be expected to solve them all him or herself.

The problems in our own land with immigration and the Veteran’s crisis have their roots in events and trends that are generations in the making. The problems we face at home with police violence and racial unrest are part of an American legacy that can be traced back to our very beginnings as a people. Generations of leaders have all grappled with these issues, some more successfully than others.  The best progress we ever make as a nation happens when those in government or in leadership work together.

Our international problems are a result of years of bad diplomacy and decision-making that was often done without the best intentions or the greatest wisdom. One of the lessons we Americans have a hard time understanding is that not everyone on the planet wants the same things we want, or we want for them. It used to be that politics stopped at the water’s edge. Obama hatred has changed that old tradition too.

I believe the qualities of great leadership can alter the course of things.  I often disagree with our President these days, and question his leadership. My disagreements would probably be over very different things than most people would cite. But I don’t lay all the blame on him. I liken his predicament now to a person in a marriage where one spouse refuses to work together and actively undoes what their partner is trying to accomplish- or a business where one partner refuses to cooperate with any part of running the business and says “no” to very idea or very solution to a problem. The result is that is no partnership exists and failure is assured. In our case failure has been assured by the Republican Party. They vowed from the beginning to give this President nothing and they kept their vow. I know there are those who would say that both parties are to blame- a pox on both their houses. This is part of our tendency to create false equivalency in this age of instant media and the mass distribution of (even) stupid ideas.  Yes, both parties disagree- but only one party has actively obstructed the process. That is not equivalency. That is planned dysfunction-politically motivated. Republicans left a long list of issues never dealt with- issues that matter to Americans. Instead they have presided over a House that is the least productive in history and a Senate that has set the record for filibusters. They have left immigrants, Veterans, active duty Military, long-term unemployed people, the poor and the middle-class, job seekers, and everyone who is not in the 1% by the side of the road. That is the real seed of our discontent.

Shakespeare’s opening line in Richard III mentions a winter of discontent, but also points to better times with the misshapen King about to rise. I would like to see the season of our discontent be transformed by a Congress that is finally willing to come back and do its job. They must stop complaining about a President trying to act alone, when it was them who deserted him-and us. They have chosen to focus instead on suing the President for exceeding his power. Ironically the one specific they are suing him for is the very thing in the Affordable Care Act they wanted in the first place. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds. Our system of government calls for three equal branches of government. One branch should not have the luxury to just quit doing their part because they have fomented hatred for this President, thinking it will fool us into believing they are the answer. I look forward to seeing this season of discontent be transformed into a season of change for the better.

Thanks for looking in.