Here's what I've been reading, in case you are interested. (And I understand if you're not. Everyone comes to the table with different experiences, and what I find helpful isn't necessarily of any use to the next person.)
Elizabeth Lesser: Take "the Other" to lunch (TEDWomen 2010) Suggestions on talking to those whose views are different from yours, including being genuinely curious rather than trying to debate or persuade.
Did Americans vote out the media, too, in this election? Ideas on why the media got it wrong when they predicted who would win the recent American election.
Taking Aim at the Establishment: Why Some of Europe's Top Leaders Are Walking Dead. Brexit and the US election may be just the beginning.
Donald Trump Could Happen in Canada. It's Already Begun. The title is self-explanatory.
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And in this spot right here, I was going to put a picture of my Grandad and me, from when I was about four years old. That's the same Grandad who played the fiddle and worked in the coal mines.
I went to the spot where we store photo albums, sure that I could lay my hands on the picture I wanted in no time at all.
It was nowhere to be found.
One hour later I was still looking.
Actually I'm still looking.
Here's another picture of me instead.
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| I bet you were expecting a donkey, right? But I'm feeling kind of sheepish today. Thanks, Pixabay. It's a good thing your photos are better organized than mine are. |
Are your photos shipshape? or would I feel right at home at your place?
You would be at home here. And very welcome.
ReplyDeleteThank you, EC - and you'd be very welcome here as well. When is someone going to invent an instant transporter for real?
DeleteOne thing I can tell you about the recent votes in the UK and the US is they both went against the government. People are fed up with the government and they decided to take out their anger on them.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Terry. Things reached the tipping point.
DeleteBravo to you for trying to understand the issues! I alternate between trying to understand more and wanting to just turn it all off. I'm sort of in that latter place now.
ReplyDeleteSo do I, to be honest. But speaking of honesty, I'm trying to keep myself on track. Accountability and all that.
Deletejust have a read...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thepoke.co.uk/2016/11/21/comment-reader-ft-gone-viral-nails-remainerleaver-brexit-row/#.WDQgYbW-pO9.facebook
True enough. Yet there is still a problem to be dealt with. There's a pile of work ahead.
DeleteA lot has to do with the media, I think. Former news outlets and journalists are now owned by entertainment companies (Disney, for example)who are interested in selling the entertainment they have to offer. When Good Morning America started putting Dancing With the Stars results with news headlines (War breaks out in Middle East) I knew we were in trouble. They will tell us or sell us whatever they think we will buy. Journalistic integrity has been flushed down the toilet.
ReplyDeleteGood point.
DeleteAnother article I read also talked about the financial squeeze on traditional media, which leads to both consolidation of ownership (so we think we're getting several viewpoints but it's all one) and lack of journalists to cover all angles.
Our photos are chucked in a box altogether and are definitely not organised at all. Mind you I don't have images of sheep or donkeys among them. Were you never taught as a child to eat with your mouth closed! ;)
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! But how would I talk while eating, then?!
DeleteThe media failed us as citizens, but made a boatload of money in the process. The way I understand it, when the broadcast spectrum was divided up, a deal was struck with the companies who use it: You get to make money broadcasting on everyone's airwaves, and in return, you include public interest programming among the entertainment. Thus was born the model of broadcast news as a "loss leader" product, that employed reporters and analysts and had an overriding purpose of informing the audience, without the distraction of needing to turn a profit. Think Murrow and Cronkite. Sadly, all that remains of that deal is the Sunday shows, like Meet the Press etc. that are, if anything, worse than the regular evening news broadcast.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is a good thing associated with these changes or not, but studies post-election showed that fewer and fewer people get their news from TV broadcasts, and among those who still do, the broadcasts are often blatantly partisan, like Fox News. More people said that they get their news from social media, with Facebook being the most likely source, percentage wise.
I feel that the turning away from profit-driven news broadcasting could be a good thing, but cable news (for the most part) isn't much better, and getting one's news from the internet can be tricky; while good information is indeed out there (that's where I get my news), anyone can write anything on the internet. In fact, I'm doing it right now.
It's kind of hard; I want to be an informed citizen, I feel it is my duty to do so, but it is more and more becoming a skill to master to just get reliable information. I do it anyway. It's kind of important, and it's only going to get more that way in the coming four years.
-Doug in Oakland
Interesting - and I didn't know that about the broadcast spectrum. I need to check what happened in Canada along the same lines. I feel that our CBC is still trustworthy; it's a Crown corporation which allows it to concentrate on journalism, not profit, like the models in the US that you mentioned. And using a common-sense filter, at a minimum, the articles seem balanced and informed.
DeleteI so agree with your last paragraph. I think it's important to be an informed citizen, too, and especially now, but it takes work.
I cannot figure out how to save pics from an email so that I can post on desktop and then to blog. IMAC heaven! I would probably be right at home.
ReplyDeleteWelcome,e - thanks for commenting. There's something to be said for good old paper photos, right? Sometimes I just want to give up on technology.
DeleteI agree with Doug in Oakland...
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeleteUmmm . . . Do pictures in a heap in a box count? Yikes!
ReplyDeleteIf you can find the box, and the picture you want is in the box, then - yes!
DeleteOh God, no. I have boxes of photos all over the place, none of them organized. It's awful. I hope you don't get a Trump in Canada. One North American blowhard in power is enough!
ReplyDeleteTrue, or maybe one is one too many :)
DeleteI started organizing my pictures once. And that was also enough :)