Greetings from The Publisher . . . What’s Being Said, How, What Isn’t Being Said— And the Good News

Words and language has definitely been in the news lately, which led us to feature Mary Garner's book that looks at the power of words. Hearing all the reports about managed news, it's important to recognize how even sound bites can shape our opinions.

I started thinking about words early in March when I went to hear Thom Hart­mann speak at the Church of Today. It was very worthwhile both revisiting the ideas of our country's founders and hearing the research Hart­mann has done. His presentation attempted to be as nonpartisan as possible. Given how far away we are from some of those organizing principles, that was a challenge at times.

One of things I took from the Friday evening talk, besides the desire to attend Saturday's workshop, was looking at what pushed the colonists enough to take action against the British.

I think of the desire for self-rule and separation from Great Britain, which was part of it. Before that, the first settlers were escaping the Church of England. They wanted the freedom to practice their religion independent of government interference, official approval or sanctions.

Other reasons included the desire to break from the trade/caste system and choose one's life path. Some were released from debt in exchange for a period of labor.

To identify the roots of the civil disobedience that eventually led to the Revolutionary War, however, we have to look elsewhere. The Boston Tea Party was triggered by small businessmen objecting to the special treatment given the British East India Company. They were the corporate giant of the day who did not pay the taxes everyone else paid.

I was glad to hear our Founders rid us of that inequality. Well, some things didn't stick. Issues aren't decided once and the “losing” side doesn't go away never to return. Maintaining equality requires vigilance and participation. Most of us are simply too busy to get involved very much. Inequality simply requires special interest money.

This has been quite a month for revealing the state of the media. What has recently been presented as “in-depth” coverage can be produced by government agencies and aired without the source of the report being identified. The Administration pays for favorable reviews of their policies and programs. Town hall “forums” have become scripted and rehearsed plays. Few “hard” questions are asked at the President's press conferences because he calls on non-reporters who, like him, are government employees.

The lack of an aboveground, mainstream investigative media helps lead us to this. You have to wonder what kind of tips the President had for the Russians when he criticized them for not having a free press.

Thom Hartmann's workshop was unique and, in part, looked at how we form our opinions. Very briefly, he talked about how we take in details and information then structure, characterize or frame it on the way to forming an opinion.

As a radio talk show host, he said that every day he sees people on his show and other shows lose the battle of the details—but win the debate. They operate as if the details, the facts, were irrelevant. They focus on giving the details a favorable context. It's not an “inheritance tax,” for instance; it's a “death tax.” The game is to interrupt every time they hear the trigger— inheritance tax and interject their re-framing remarks, such as “death tax.” The sound bites stick, leaving people with the “right” impression or frame of reference to form an opinion, Hartmann said. The other side is not offering a similar frame of reference.

There's also a book out that addresses this by George Lakoff titled Don't Think of an Elephant that's very good.

Leaving the workshop, we can at least feel good that we have a representative democracy, a republic, which allows us to give away the administration of the government to elected representatives, right? Since they have rules and laws to follow, it should work. Unfortunately, we can't say that. We haven't got to the good news yet.

The tragic story of Terry Schiavo is a good example of almost everything bad about politics these days, and how the debate is being framed. After 15 years and at least 17 court decisions that all concluded that the medical evidence was clear—that this unfortunate woman would not recover and was in a vegetative state—wouldn't most of us want to die? Wouldn't we want to free our loved ones so they could move on?

Yet Schiavo became the center of a “right-to-life” campaign. Some say that the President and Congress miscalculated public opinion when they passed a law related to the Schiavo case. When public opinion went against their attempt to save her, it was said that proved they were acting out of principle.

That's news isn't it? They are concerned about public opinion? Is there previous evidence of this concern?

Do you think it was political? One state solved its dilemma of when to pull the plug when they passed a law that allowed the State court to stop life-support once doctors decided there was no hope of recovery—even when the family objected. No, this was not passed by the “death party,” as the Democrats are now being called. It was passed in Texas in 1999 and signed into law by their governor, who is now our current President. Ironically the law was used to end someone's life at the same time the Democrats were being “framed.”

Today we should know to follow the money. Their stand satisfied political contributors. That's politics. Then again, there's also unlawful. One representative, describing himself as a state's right's guy, said he hated to step on states' rights, but euthanasia was a bigger issue. That was more important.

On the other hand, did he swear to uphold his belief against euthanasia, or to obey and uphold the Constitution? Why aren't they all being impeached? The last time the Federal government crossed the line and tried to interfere in a State court's decision was when George Bush, the current, became President. Again, a matter of principle, I guess.

Fortunately, across the nation media editorials called the action unconstitutional. They just forgot impeachable .

Isn't the Schiavo action predictable, however? When you propose the budget that Congress did, you need a big distraction. When you cut services to the sick, the old, veterans, children, the poor and basically those in need, and then give tax cuts to the rich you need a little PR that paints you as compassionate. What was covered, Schiavo or the budget?

Just when you might begin to wonder whether or not those who voted for the budget care about people in need we are given the compassionate majority vs. the Party of Death.

A useful reframing might be to recognize that pro-birth is not pro-life or quality of life. Once born, the caring for the conditions in which that life is lived disappears.

Like the other manipulations mentioned, we ought to know by now. I'm getting trained. Whenever a new “issue” appears I wonder how Tom DeLay's ethics are doing. How the war's going? Who's making money now? And next? What will happen around March 31 that distracts us when the Selective Service makes their recommendations about the draft?

With all the distractions, there are two places to look to regain some sense of hope for self-rule—for us/US, not Iraq. First, the manipulations are too transparent for everyone to ignore. Even when the media isn't telling us everything, people suspect it. They know. The old-style, cold-war manipulations don't work anymore. We're growing past the need for the protective Father in Washington and more toward the questioners our founders hoped we would grow into.

Second, notice that even with all the branches of government aligned in one direction, not everyone is following. When Congress took their break they discovered a very upset and vocal constituency. They returned and quickly revised (or dropped until later) the reallocation of Social Security funds to Wall Street, framed as “privati­za­tion.” They notice upset.

Have a Great Month,

Steve Hays



TOP OF PAGE

HOME - FEATURES - NEWS - FROM THE PUBLISHER
LETTERS - COLUMNS - MUSIC REVIEWS - BOOK REVIEWS
PLANETARY CYCLES - CALENDAR - ABOUT TLC - CONTACT US
CLASSIFIEDS - RESOURCE DIRECTORY
ARCHIVES - SUBSCRIBE - ADVERTISE - SEARCH