This is not a will he? or won’t he? diary. This is not a draft Gore diary. Please.
This is the first of a series of diaries about the ideas in, and the ideas inspired by, Al Gore’s book: The Assault on Reason. Anyone may participate in this forum. The book is just the "text." I hope those who write comments will open discussions with things they thought of while reading the book; it would be helpful to this reader if you could include page numbers to help know what it was that inspired your thoughts. For those who have not read the book, I will include an overview of the current chapter. I will also provide questions to consider for the next diary.
The next diary will appear on Friday, June 1, at 4 pm PST and will be centered on Chapter 1, The Politics of Fear.
Former Vice President Al Gore, from page 75: "The Politics of Wealth"
"There must be a public forum accessible to all within which individuals can communicate freely to illuminate unwise as well as illegitimate uses of power."
from pg 2: "Introduction"
"Faith in the power of reason-the belief that free citizens can govern themselves wisely and fairly be resorting to logical debate on the basis of the best evidence available, instead of raw power-was and remains the central premise of American democracy. This premise is now under assault."
Algebrateacher: There is a need for a systematic discussion of what has gone wrong in our politics over the last six years. Well-informed citizens can reason together and make suggestions about what can repair and reinvigorate the marketplace of ideas. Our politics for the last six years have centered on war, fear, failure and the subversion of institutions. What can bring hope back into our politics?
By the way, I do not know Al Gore. I have never worked for him, paid or otherwise. I just believe good ideas come from people sharing a frame of reference. Also, I would like to acknowledge user Sea Turtle, who had the original idea for this. I trust she will visit here and comment often. I've taken on the responsibility; I welcome your input.
An overview of the Introduction of The Assault on Reason:
(I’m not writing a book report here nor am I writing for an academic journal. The following is for anyone who has not read the book. If you feel I have missed something important for the nonreaders to know, please write a comment)
Americans have an obsession with "news" stories involving celebrities or something lurid, violent or unsavory. Particularly enticing is any story that combines all of these elements. And we get to see it on television. Gore points out that the average American watches television for four and a half hours a day, an amount roughly equivalent to three quarters of the "free" time we have available. Even a majority of Internet users watch television while on the Internet. Television is the dominant source of information in America.
But television is a passive medium and programming is created for one purpose: attract an audience for advertisements. Gore points out how politicians will neglect their duties in order to raise money to buy television advertisements promoting their reelection. News programs have been corrupted into "profit centers" to attract audiences instead of disseminating important information. And advertising, according to John Kenneth Galbraith, creates demand for products that consumers never knew they wanted or needed. In the end, we are convinced to buy something by what we see on television. We buy products and we buy, perhaps it would be better to say we buy into, someone’s version of what’s important, what’s the truth and what we should do or not do about it.
What has been lost is the power the printed word had through our history from its beginnings up to the television age. Gore quotes John Stuart Mill that truth can be found through, "the fullest and freest comparison of opposite opinions." This print-based concept has been replaced by one-directional television. The combination of conglomerates, massive advertising profits, special interest money in politics and a citizenry that has been largely converted into a passive audience has damaged our ability to reason.
Questions for Chapter 1:
(These are meant to be for the next diary. If you feel strongly about them now, comment, though I encourage you to wait. If you would like to add a question, please comment.)
Since the beginning of the Bush presidency, what events have actually caused you to feel fear?
Have there been events during the Bush presidency that seemed to cause fear in other people but you, personally, weren’t afraid?
Consider what you know of American history. List, and try to put in some order, five times when America was in great danger. Do those times have things in common?
Consider this quotation (page 24): "Leadership means inspiring us to manage through our fears. Demagoguery means exploiting our fears..." What does that make you think?
Gore discusses how technology has allowed us to better understand how the brain works, particularly the connections between the cognitive and emotional systems. His emphasis is on how fear, and other emotional trauma, affects the brain. If you have some good links for further investigation, please include them in a comment then.
Gore discusses "amygdala politics based on vicarious traumatization, feeding off memories of past tragedies." He ties this to ancient hatreds that still cause conflict in places like the Balkans in the 1990s, in Africa, in the Middle East and more. Consider America today; what people use something from the past (particularly something beyond living memory) to instigate or perpetuate conflict now?
Gore quoting Ed Muskie (1970): "There are only two kinds of politics. They’re not radical and reactionary or conservative and liberal or even Democratic and Republican. There are only the politics of fear and the politics of trust. One says you are encircled by monstrous dangers. Give us power over your freedom so we may protect you. The other says the world is a baffling and hazardous place, but it can be shaped to the will of men." Consider that quotation. What do you think of from the past six years?