>I thought this was very interesting, but also that you are putting a very
>optimistic spin on it.
>Judging from the big titty TV hits out there...the "I'm mad as hell and I
>won't take it anymore" shows, the reality shows, the makeover shows, the
>survivor shows....there is certainly an awareness that something is deeply
>wrong, but at the same time there is an incapacity or unwillingness to
>identify the real cuprits. It's not just that O'Reilley is steering
>everyone wrong, it's that it's way easier to blame NOW or folks on
>welfare, or minorities, than to blame the ruling class...because most
>people don't think they have a chance to win against the ruling class. I'm
>not sure that's exactly how people think, but it sure seems to play out
>that way.
>
>Joanna
I believe this is only the second time in my life someone has accused me of optimism! I don't watch TV but recently had the opportunity during several days of inclement weather to see several "reality shows" while on a working vacation. My take on the shows was very different than the others in my party who see them regularly. People are taught from an early age that leaders are good and agitators are bad. NOW is usually portrayed as an agitator in mainstream media. People see their family units disintegrating and want to blame someone. O'Reilly tells them it's NOWs anti-family beliefs causing it. Overly simplified to be sure but a partial explanation. People who have an easier time resisting such propaganda don't resist it simply because they're intelligent. A not terrible but not great analogy (it's the only one I have this late) is that like preferences for color or flavors, skepticism is only partly socially constructed. Much like the belief in religions ideas. Intelligent people can and do believe religious ideas that are impossible physically or contradictory. Everyone who believes Jesus was Gods son and rose from the dead and that somehow that act has an effect on a ghost that departs your body when you die isn't an idiot even though when worded this way it certainly sounds idiotic. Peoples ability to reject that social conditioning is only partially because they are intelligent enough to see the contradictions. Part of the reason some people do and others do not reject religious beliefs is currently unknown. Like preferring blue over red or caramel over butterscotch. You can frequently explain why people believe but you generally can't explain why they don't.
John Thornton