In many circles, indeed quite legitimate and prosperous ones, the New York Times is regarded as a mouthpiece for the CIA, a channel for spreading opinion among certain demographics.
As someone within those circles, this article gives me pause.
Civics is a kind of religion, and it is difficult for people caught up in it to approach discussion from a logical and external perspective. This kind of civics is dangerous to society.
Many of us find voting insulting, given very low marginal power in a vote; it’s akin to throwing breadcrumbs to the poor. The structure of governance (the reality, not the mythology taught in schools or pushed forth as propaganda) is not in support of ‘the people”.
Right or wrong, this is how many of feel. Voting is silly and futile.
How best to teach and effective teaching are problems solved long ago. It’s unaffordable for most.
What’s being discussed here is how to optimize mass education so that it’s least bad and is effective for a majority or least a substantial portion of children.
...and postulate, for science doesn’t truly know why, and frankly, my guess is as good as any scientist’s. Much like in public education, policy makers in public health cater to and enforce the average. What a crappy way to do things.
Be aware, the vast majority of people who have ever smoked cigarettes occasionally never became addicted. They were not labeled as “smokers”. A non-trivial number of people today continue to smoke cigarettes on occasion. I like to have one on my birthday. Then again, I’m able to eat a chip and not consume the entire bag.
I’m not convinced of these social science studies, and when digging into individual studies I’m sure the replication crisis comes into play.
Revolution, not election. We need a new governance framework in the US. I believe it’s genuinely silly to think this type of activity is limited to one party or one administration or that it is new.
I believe the Constitution and related artefacts should be stored in the British Museum with other historical documents. Civic religion needs to be done away with.
The legal system leaves much to be desired in relation to fairness and equity. I’d much prefer a multi-staged approach with an 1) AI analysis, 2) judge review with high bar for analysis if in disagreement with the AI, 3) public availability of the deliberations, 4) an appeals process.
My understanding is that nutrition lags behind other sciences add is significantly impacted by the replication crisis. In this, much public health messaging lacks credibility.
Perhaps the best advice to “the people” is to encourage them to stick to their guns?
What bothers me most is not the governance and those who drive the horrible system. What bothers me most are the people down below. I used to dismiss them as stupid, but now I think, deep down, most people don’t actually want freedom. They see it as scary and prefer that their lives are tightly managed.
I find it curious that I earned -2 points. Perhaps my points in the post were too pointed for some people. That, or some people really love civics theatre.
As someone within those circles, this article gives me pause.