Quote: “Cronkite said he fears Americans are learning less and less about what their government is doing, and worse, they do not seem to care. He cited recent presidential elections that have seen less than half of registered voters go to the polls. The result has been leaders who are chosen by about a quarter of the electorate. ‘That means we don’t have a democracy,’he said. ‘We’ve got an oligarchy here, not a democracy. Our democracy is in some danger if we don’t concentrate on educating the populace.'”
Comment: Just another reason whey we need to focus our efforts with our students. Give them the tools to change the script.
All your political posts are proving more than I can bear, Will.
I just gotta throw in my two cents….
I have to concur with Cronkite on several points…however, I admit to having a distrust and fear of the media as society’s total education base, at least how it stands today. As Cronkite states, too much entertainment fluff is replacing hard news, but even among those that profess hard news, one finds biases and motives. I think Americans are truly pressed to find an objective, stand as reported, non-biased account of the “news” anymore.
Just another reason why we need to focus our efforts with our students. Give them tools to change the script.
More than anything else, we need to focus on giving our students the tools to be intelligent skeptics with regards to politicians, media members, or any others in positions of influence and/or power. We need to teach them that if we want our government to remain a democracy “for the people” then the people must bear responsibility to be active participants. The people must make sure that those in power act in the public’s best interest. This can only be served through questioning, and by not accepting everything at face value. What are the hidden agendas behind the actions? Teachers need to instill a skeptical mind.
I, too, fear we are at a politically critical point in our country’s history. Yes, if we are not careful, an oligarchical government for the good of a few is what will exist, and our “by the people, for the people” concept of democracy will cease to be.