We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

How to Reach A Larger Audience

from Washington's Blog. The blogger is concerned about how to communicate with a large audience such as the American public, and delves into the research findings on public communications. It is clear to me that this research has been used mainly by the ruling class to manipulate the public, to engineer or "manage consensus". The blogger argues that such techniques must also be used by progressives to get their views across to larger audiences. (Yuck!) I think the basic problem is that public education, by design, has failed to teach critical thinking and have left the public so vulnerable to such techniques. But is he right? You decide.