Happy Birthday, America! #241
By Hank Silverberg
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The question arises as we come out of the holiday and into a full-blown 2023-24 election season:
What does the average American want for this country?
Do we want a country where White, Protestant men control much of our politics and policy as it was in say ,1954?
Or do we want to keep the glorious diversity and strength as a country we had as the millennium changed in 2000?
Do we want a country where every person has equal opportunity, or a country where race, religion and gender play a major role in who gets what?
Do we want a country where the rich 1% make decisions that benefit only them, or do we want a country where the other 99% work to make it much better?
As America enters its 248th year as an independent Republic, will the United States remain as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world? Or will we fade into the isolationism of the 1930's that played a major role in a devasting world war?
For the first time in my 68 years of life, I have doubts about the future of the country in which I was born.
And those doubts stem, in part, from one major problem which breaks my heart.
In my 40 years as a journalist, I looked to the free flow of accurate information to inform and educate our masses. It was my guide. It was why I worked, and it was my patriotic duty to do it right. Truth, good or bad, was the focus. Americans are smart and adjustable. They can deal with the truth. And for the most part that system succeeded. The truth emphasized what worked and exposed what didn't work, even though it wasn't always pretty.
Unfortunately, the concept that truth succeeds has slowly faded away. It started in 2015, not coincidently, as the internet and social media grew to a monolith, and at the same moment Donald Trump came onto the national political scene.
In today's climate where the technology is pervasive, the truth seems unmarketable, even more so than in the early years of television.
Newton Minnow's "vast wasteland" description of early television, and Edward R. Morrow's "just wires and lights in a box" warning seem trite and simplistic in comparison.
"Wires and Lights in a Box" speech - Edward R. Murrow - 1958 - YouTube
Getting the truth these days seems almost impossible for the average person. Politicians lying is not new. They always did it to make themselves look good or others look bad. But these days many of them start with lies that have no basis in truth and elevate the deception from there.
We hear or read misleading, often wrong or fabricated stories online every minute, flashed to our smartphones, tablet or computer screen wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
Whether it's the war in Ukraine, the trade war with China, the immigration issue at the border, or textbooks in our hometown schools, the truth is not always there. It presents a difficult challenge to find our way through the maze and on to just a few "news" organizations that remain faithful to the journalistic standards of objectivity.
I still hope that by November 2024, when Americans once again go to the polls to vote for our next president, that we will have a clear picture of right and wrong. And that we will once again think of our country as one that aims for equality, inclusion and truth, and where hate is the last bastion of a small group of ignorant cave dwellers.
This is the America thousands fought for on the battlefield, in the courtroom, in the classroom or in the streets.
It's something to contemplate over the hotdogs, beer and fireworks this week.
Radioactive Roads?
With all the crazy things going on in Florida these days, some people might have missed this one. Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also running for president, has signed a bill that would allow the use of "radioactive mining waste" in the construction of roads. It's called phosphogypsum, and it has been linked to cancer.
Phosphate rock is mined to create fertilizer, but the leftover material, the phosphogypsum, can eventually produce radon which is a known carcinogen. Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer, right behind cigarette smoke. CBS News reports though, the EPA will still have to approve the use of the material in Florida roads even though the state bill has been approved.
New Florida law allows roads made of toxic mining waste (msn.com)
Moms For Liberty?
It sounds great. Parents who want to get involved in their local schools. But there may be something a bit deceptive about a group called "Moms for Liberty," which is now gathering money and candidates to run for school boards across the country both this year and in 2024.
According to the Associated Press, the group's co-
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Why is this an issue? The group has spent the past two years filing aggressive complaints about any school lessen plan that talks about systemic racism, which they have mislabeled Critical Race Theory. They have also confronted and harassed school board members to pressure them to scrub any curriculum that includes diversity and inclusion material. This effort has included banning books and other instructional material that might mention the LGBTQ+ community.
Now Moms for Liberty is seeking nationwide donors, and they are expanding to become a national player in Republican politics. Several Republican candidates for president have already approached the group about endorsements and help.
In 2022 the group was able to get about 250 of their endorsed candidates elected across the country, though the numbers have dropped off a bit so far in 2023.
The movement has not escaped close scrutiny. Grass roots groups have begun forming in some communities to challenge them, and the AP reports the American Federation of Teachers has been spurred into action, and in doing so has accumulated at least 41 new units to counter this group's attacks.
It's important to note that in many places across the country, though not everywhere, school board races and candidates, by law, are supposed to be non-partisan, with no party labels or endorsements.
Using the "Moms for Liberty" endorsement could subvert that.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
You may not have even heard of this week's dumb quote subject. But this talk show hosts' comments about former President Brack Obama are about as dumb as you can get.
Fox host Jesse Watters was talking about the tragic loss of the submersible Titan on his show early in the week. Earlier that same day, Mr. Obama had noted the intense media coverage of the Titan tragedy compared to lack of coverage of a shipwreck in the Mediterranean in which more than 700 migrants lost their lives. It was a criticism which deserved some attention. But it prompted Watters to say this about Obama:
"Remember, this is a guy whose father has roots in Africa. This is a guy who spent a lot of his childhood in Southeast Asia...and then spent a lot of time in Hawaii. Was that the last state to get a star on the flag? He's never really looking at things from an American perspective."
The comment is dumb on so many levels. Obama was President for eight years and left office with a high approval rating, which is still high.
Hawaii became a U.S. state in 1959, before Mr. Obama was born there, and Watters' comments were certainly an insult to people who live there.
And finally, though Obama's father was from Kenya, the former President himself never lived there. His mother, who was from Kansas, worked for the State Department, and Obama as a young man, did spend some years abroad. But that may have given him a BETTER perspective than many people of what it is to be an American. All this leads me to one more question: does Fox News look for people with poor educations and low IQ's to be hosts???
(Your comments and suggestions for this blog are welcome, see comment section below)
My NEWEST book is now available. It is designed for use in Public Speaking and entry level communications classes.
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
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