09 November

[6andcounting]

(10-21-2016, 05:19 PM)Dill Wrote: I think the level of instruction in civic knowledge needs to be increased at the high school and college level. And it needs to include some basic information on social phenomena such as moral panics and demagogic scapegoating--some criteria for recognizing when they occur and diverse examples, historical and contemporary. Also helpful would be modeling of civil debating, contrasted with forms of (now electronic) demagoguery and PR manipulation which scorn evidence-based arguments. (Just heard a segment of "Savage America" while driving home.)

No amount of tinkering with parties and the Constitution will matter if this problem is not fixed. Just as the "new economy" requires a higher percentage of college-degreed labor, so does the "old Republic" now require a higher level of civic knowledge.

I am not in favor of term limits for politicians any more than for doctors, generals or auto mechanics. The more experience the better.

But I would like to see limits on campaign spending and a law requiring a 2-5 year waiting period before anyone leaving office can work as a lobbyist.

I agree completely, but Democrats would just use their newfound knowledge to confirm why they hate Republicans while ignoring their party and literally themselves doing the exact same thing. And Republicans would just use their newfound knowledge to confirm why they hate Democrats while ignoring their party and literally themselves doing the exact same thing.

My contention being if people don't have the initiative to learn, or at least pay attention, to become more informed, forcing them to learn it isn't going to make receptive to actually use their force fed knowledge in a useful or constructive way.