by Morgan » Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:08 pm
Okay. Sorry about the dingbat moment this morning (RE: "I still don't know who you're referring to.") I was exhausted when I woke up, and stayed that way most of the morning, even after drinking two large cups of coffee. Sigh.<br><br>Anna, I get that you don't want to excuse Joe/Jane Workingman from his/her obligation to pay attention to the news and to get involved in the affairs of the country. I don't think anyone should be excused from this, either. It's all in the way you perceive the circumstances of Joe/Jane W's, I guess.<br><br>Some people in America are literally so poor they cannot think about problems beyond their own survival. This is a classic example of Maslow's Pyramid. If they're always worrying about survival, they cannot move up to a point where other people problems - anything beyond food, and basic needs - are of interest. It's just the way it is.<br><br>I'm going to return to the problem of information-poverty, because that is the main thing, to me. The poor and the working poor are also information poor. They lack both the technological access to alternative sources of information and the education to decode the information that is out there. By comparison, those of us who have technological access, along with the ability to decode the deeper messages of an article like the 2 billion lost to Iraq, are information rich. The difference between us is access and education.<br><br>Indeed, one reason poverty is so useful as a tool of social control is because it keeps people stupid. They are, simply, too exhausted or stressed out to consider a higher education. Particularly if their peer groups do not value it. The by-product is illiteracy - and technological illiteracy only compounds and the problem.<br><br>We've all deplored the problem of the MSM's lack of attention to the truth. If the average Joe/Jane isn't introduced to the alternative version of reality they're used to hearing, things that we discuss in forums like this, for instance, they will not 'get' what the big deal is, like your grocery boy example. The result is that you will continue to have an uninformed populace easily persuaded by the lies of BushCo. <br><br>The only way to change people, and to make it stick, is to educate - for the long term. This takes time and patience and we all need to get out there and do the hard work to change people's hearts and minds. The best approach is to speak to them in a language they understand, and to appeal to values we all share. Also, I've learned that you get a lot farther with people if you ask them questions and listen to them. I always try to hear what folks are most concerned with, like gas prices, or the cost of prescriptions. Once I know that, then I help them link their personal fears/concerns to the social and political issues they need to pay attention to.<br><br>BTW: I don't think your construction workers types are all that poor - they make good money compared to those working service based jobs. Also, white, working-class males in construction jobs have issues with how masculinity is perceived and expressed. These men are more likely to identify with Bush's John Wayne style machismo than any other group. They don't care about his policies. They care about his being a tough guy. He makes them feel powerful and they have come to need it.<br><br>Speaking of which, America has returned to the 1950s, and then some! Cultural regression is a phenomenon I think is worth considering as another reason why so many people want to maintain the status quo. It's more about conformity than it is about believing their ship will come in. (imho)<br><br>I hope this clears up my end of things. I think we're pretty much on the same page, just looking through different lenses.<br><br>Best,<br>Morgan <p></p><i></i>
