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November 07, 2004
What do we do now (part 2)
I've been thinking about the concrete and definitive steps that I can take to keep my momentum going, to keep working towards the progressive future I desire, and to stay proactive now, instead of falling into defeatist reactions against the administration.
And I think the first thing that needs to be done, that we all can do, and that will have the greatest impact in the long and short run is pretty simple. Just three things:
Discover the truth Document it and Disseminate it
In the past, we, the people, were reliant upon a small minority of trusted journalists to do this for us. Yet since the rise of 'yellow-journalism' and the Hearst papers, the integrity and strength of our media has deteriorated, leaving us with a huge library of irrelevant, slanted, biased, agenda-oriented, newspapers and TV programs, doing more to spread hate, fear and party lies than keeping political power in check.
Today, we are in the middle of an information revolution that is changing our means of information in radical ways. The influence of Internet based media has grown to national significance and continues to grow. In the same way that Howard Dean's campaign financing has changed how candidates find funding, weblogs, mail lists, and direct access to our choice of national, international and regional journalists is deteriorating the power once concentrated solely in editorial offices in remote office buildings.
Today, we have the means of information at our disposal which can be used to counteract the lies of political power. We have mass influence through the internet, through the weblogs like thedailykos.com, counterpunch.org, indymedia.org, and so on. Yes, we are preaching to the choir, which makes spreading the truth quicker. And yes, these sites have great influence outside of the choir. TV news wanted to have the writers of thedailykos.com available for comment throughout election day. Mass media does pick up stories that start as peer to peer communications on these sites. The influence grows.
As evidence of errors in the tabulation of votes in certain counties in certain states mount, as evidence of foul play is uncovered, as the truth about November 2 becomes known, we must not let the lies prevail. We have until December 13, when the Electoral College meets. We must demand the truth before then.
--John
Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or
persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest
friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with
none; the support of the State governments in all their rights,
as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns,
and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; the
preservation of the general government in its whole
constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home
and safety abroad;...freedom of religion; freedom of the
press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas
corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected; these
principles form the bright constellation which has gone before
us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and
reformation.
Thomas Jefferson
First Inaugural Address.
March 4,1801.
Posted by John at November 7, 2004 04:16 PM