Saturday, February 16, 2008

Fear of Knowledge

The New York Times published a review of a new book called "The Age of American Unreason," by Susan Jacoby. She decided to write the book on 9/11 back in 2001 when she overheard a conversation comparing the attacks to Pearl Harbor. "What's Pearl Harbor?" asked one of the guys. The other explained that it was "when the Vietnamese dropped bombs in a harbor, and it started the Vietnam War." Yep, overhearing that conversation could drive any informed citizen downright mad.

What is the deal with the anti-intellectual trend in the States? There's hope though. Check out the video below to hear a young guy who has informed opinions and expresses them well. He even looks cool.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

McCan't See the Forest for the Trees

Had a brief debate with a friend who supports McCain. My friend explained that he and I see eye to eye on most issues, but that there's one big difference.

The issue we see differently is the “terrorist threat” posed by Muslim fundamentalists (fundies, I call them, whether Christian or Muslim). He thinks the fundies are a major threat. I won’t argue with that (not because I agree, but because I know there is no point arguing on that subject).

So if the terrorist threat is the main issue for him, then he must be supporting McCain because of his stand on Iraq and Iran. I pointed out that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism. He agreed that it didn’t at the beginning, but said that in his opinion it does now. So I asked if he thought that invading and occupying another country and maintaining a losing war in that country created more terrorists (whatever their religion may be). Destroying your image around the world and acting like self-righteous mavericks can’t help the “War on Terror” if such a war even really exists, can it?

A lot of people think my view of reality is tainted by having lived in the Middle East for a spell and because I haven't lived in the States much for the past 15 years. They tell me I am misinformed and cannot see the forest for the trees. Odd that having actually lived in the Middle East for three years would qualify me as “uninformed.”

Of course, the way I see it, it’s the Republicans who can’t see the forest for the trees. It’s anyone who believes this war was about anything other than oil and money who are blind. And it’s those who think that starting another war would make us more secure.

So to me, McCain will forever be McCan’t. And considering I support the “Yes, We Can” candidate. I think it hits the nail on the head. Go Obama!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Breaking the silence... well, sort of

I’m breaking my silence. I haven’t written in a while because the only subject that inspires me now is politics, and some years ago I decided not to talk about politics. It was a practical decision. I made everyone mad when I talked about politics and I need friends.

People who know me might think I haven’t really sworn off the subject of politics. I do join in on occasion. But I never really say what I honestly think. Or better, I throw out some simple statements to get a feel for the climate and take it from there. The exception is with those friends who see things the way I do. Then the real me comes out.

When I’m not thinking about the elections in the States, I am typically writing lessons about communication. How’s that for irony? My lessons are for business people around the world learning English and the goals are very different.

In these business communication lessons I teach people to analyze their audience, to pace (that is, to match the audience’s expectations in terms of delivery speed, word choice, nonverbal communication, etc.), to use positive emphasis (point out the good side), and to reserve emotions.

I may have been teaching this so long that I’ve become a business communicator all the time. When there is conflict, I know I need to listen carefully and reserve judgment. I’m aware that my view is not everyone else’s view and that people rarely hear a message the same way the sender intended it to be heard. I teach that as we listen, we delete the information that doesn’t match our own views and then distort the rest of the information so that it does.

So I think I’ve become a walking business communication puppet. And it’s driving me absolutely nuts.