Sound Bites

As I was switching back and forth between news channels today as they invariably discussed politics, a certain topic caught my ear. The discussion was on “sound bite politics.” What this means is that more and more politics and voters’ opinions are influenced by sound bites and not by actual policy. The discussion not only discussed this phenomenon, but tried to answer why it happens. Of course they, as they wish to remain politically correct, never even approached the truth of why. The truth is people are too easily confused when discussing policy; it is easier to not think and just base their opinions upon the sound bites that make them feel something. The problem with this is that it does not give us the best candidate, just the candidate that can best play on the voters’ prejudices.

The thing is, policy decisions are a lot like philosophy; there are no easy answers, and often there are no answers. With this in mind, many people shut down when confronted with talk of these things. This can happen for a variety for reasons. One may be that they feel as if they are being persecuted because the education system spent years training them that they must have a ready and correct answer or they have failed. Others may feel ignorant or inadequate and therefore shy away from the discussion. There may be some that react to these conversations as I do with medical topics; glaze over and tune out because it seems to be another language, and one that makes you a bit queasy at that.

With this in mind, how do we fix it? The answer is we don’t. At least not anytime soon. There are solutions, but they will take a generation or more to fix. This should not be surprising as it has had many, many generations to get to this point. The solution begins with our education system. It is our most important foundation, period. There have been many proposals to “fix” our education system over the years, yet it still seems to be broken. Part of this is because some of the good programs have not been given sufficient chance to work, part is because good programs are prevented from being put into place, and part is because too many people with no training or understanding of education are in charge of making policy. America is an impatient society that wants immediate results, but with education, as with many things, results are not immediate, and take time to really create measurable benefit. It is like the old adage of working a job where the first day’s pay is only $.01, but the pay doubles each day. After 30 days it has grown into a great deal of money and it was all worth it, but no one ever gets there because everyone gives up after a week. Other programs are prevented from being put into place, sometimes because decision-makers fail to understand the plan. Sometimes, it is because they believe that the cost is too high for results that may not be immediately apparent, or because “that isn’t how we have always done things” or the program is not part of the core standards.

Here is the thing.  One of the keys to a good education is to remember that the learner is central, and because of this, the material has to somehow engage the interest of the learner. This does not mean that all or even most lessons need to be presented as entertainment, but there needs to be something at the school that draws the interest of the learner. Each learner is different, so for some a great art program will draw them in. (No pun intended.) Another learner may gravitate toward a great theater program, another to a good band program, another to science, another to a sports program, and for others it may be auto shop. It does not matter what the draw is, only that it makes the student want, really want to know more about it, to be better at it. For them to learn more about the program that interests them and become better at it, not only do they need to practice it, but they need the skills that are part of the core curriculum to best succeed. Once this correlation is made clear to the student, then they will flourish. Therefore, the important thing is to have all of these programs available, because our students are not automatons to be programmed in the same way; they are individuals and only by recognizing and celebrating this can we improve their education. As students become better educated and can actually think on their own, they will go forth and be more productive adults and then leaders as they get older.

This, however, is not a desired outcome by the system. Because the system keeps in power a very select few who can manipulate the world for their benefit with occasional public displays of benevolence to keep the ignorant masses happy. An ignorant population is easy to control.

Take for example the recent comments by Joe Biden speaking in Danville, Virginia about “putting y’all back in chains.” This caused a media uproar. Why? Was it because it was racially charged, referring to slavery as many in the media claimed? No. It was because it was too close to the truth that the Republican party, backed by corporate moguls, want to have conditions that are as bad as slavery or worse. After all, owners of slaves had to feed, house, and care for them, even if it was on the level of livestock. The current masters want to pay less than a living wage and do absolutely as little as possible, nothing if they could get away with it, to care for their workers. In fact, many companies are so linked through various channels that even if they do provide insurance, they are making the worker pay much of it and then getting a profit off of it in the back end. The scam and play with numbers on a page with never a concern that each of those numbers is someone’s life.  It is just a number to be crunched and manipulated to better get them another six figure or better bonus. No need to be concerned with it; after all, there are more drones and drudges being bred every day, because birth control is “morally reprehensible.”

Responsibility Changes

I was having a conversation with some people on a social media site the other day that made me realize something. It is one those things that you know, but it takes something happening to make you realize it. Most people approach and look at situations from the perspective of their experience, but there are some things that require looking and acting from a completely different perspective and set of rules.

The specific example of this is government. As an ordinary citizen it is the perspective and experience to stretch every cent to its maximum and to try to put away as much as possible in savings. As a business person it is similar, but it is not the goal to put away for savings, but instead to maximize profits to as obscene a degree as possible.

Fundamentally, while some may disagree, there is nothing wrong with that. However, once you take the step into government, no matter at what level, that perspective and approach has to be totally eliminated. The purpose of government is to govern or to serve as guiding authority. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that there is fair policy and protections for all that it governs. This is not just the making and enforcing of laws, but also the institution, funding, and regulation of programs for the benefits of the citizenry and the nation. So while it is still important to stretch every cent to its limit, there is no putting away for a rainy day or maximizing profit in the sense that those outside of the government would look at it. The profits that are seen by the government is the benefit it gives to the citizenry. The primary benefit to the people and therefore profit to the government comes from a stable and consistent infrastructure. Things like well maintained roads, effective schools, properly staffed police and emergency services, open channels of communication and commerce, maintained historical sites and parks, properly funded scientific research and exploration, etc. Not only do these things help keep the movement and flow of business and people moving smoothly and efficiently, but they also place that money back into the citizenry many-fold.

It is a completely and antithetically different mindset and approach looking at what is best for all of the citizens, instead of what is best for this select few citizens. Any that cannot understand this to their very core have no business getting involved in politics at any level, at any time, ever.