I
recall reading a doctoral dissertation years ago that dealt with the history of
sex. It was not salacious, but rather an examination of how
attitudes change across history. Some eras were labeled
masculine; others, feminine. In feminine years, the Virgin Mary was
increasingly venerated at the expense of Jesus while attitudes towards gays
lightened. Then, the pendulum would swing to the masculine attitude, and
leaders would reject such softer views for more rigid ideologies.
At
one time, the movement between one era and another were slow. Lines
between them were clearly delineated through published works, commentaries and
civil actions. That’s not true anymore. Now, societal views swing
rapidly, and, at the same time, contain strands from each side of
thought. Part of conflict today comes from the clash between these two
diverse ideologies.
I
can think of several reasons why thoughts fluctuate so wildly these days.
 | |
| The telegraph revolutionized communication. |
For
starters, communication is vastly improved today compared with even 50 years
ago. In fact, communication changed little between the time of Jesus and
the development of printing press in the 1400s. The next revolution
didn’t come until the 1800s with the Penny Press, the telegraph and then the
telephone.
Today,
everything is different. The recent horrific shooting in Colorado was
known around the world within minutes of the police call. That, in turn,
allows for a more-rapid dissemination of opinions. Everyone chimed in,
blaming the murders on the decline of Judeo-Christian ethics, lack of gun control or, my favorite, the absurd suggestion
by Rush Limbaugh that this was a CIA practice hit. How can that man open his mouth with both
feet crammed into it?
There
are also more avenues for communication. A person can be bombarded daily
through any number of sources, all providing similar messages – which may or
may not be accurate.
In
addition, the information has to be presented in bite-sized units. Pithy
statements lend themselves to media presentation, but they fail to fully
explain a person’s view. For example, it’s easy to look at the economy
and blame Barack Obama. That’s absurd. Few presidents affect the
economy in their first term. It typically takes at least four years for
economic policies to filter through. That’s as true for Obama as it was
for Bill Clinton. A rare exception is George W. Bush who, flushed with
cash, dissipated it all in his first term and created a mammoth deficit for his
successor to deal with.
Moreover,
the constant calls today to “balance” the budget – ironically, mostly demanded
by those responsible for the imbalance – ignores the reality that most of us
are in debt. Anyone with a mortgage or who didn’t pay cash for a car
borrows money. The only thing that matters is maintaining sufficient
income to cover the expenses. As a result, any budget discussion must
include investigations into proper taxation, a topic that doesn’t seem to enter
the discourse very often.
 |
| Bachmann |
As
another example, consider Rep. Michelle Bachmann’s well-publicized comment that
she wants to end minimum wage. I’m no fan of Bachmann, but that’s simply
not true. The Minnesota Representative and former Republican presidential
candidate actually said she wants to end all regulations that interfere with
job creation and examine all existing ones, including minimum wage.
She
has a point on minimum wage, but only a small one. At $7.25 an hour, it
might prevent some employers from hiring someone. On the other hand,
federal statistics show that about 4.4 million Americans earning minimum wage
now, representing about 3.4 percent of the workforce. That’s little
changed from two years ago when the minimum wage was $5.85 per hour.
Apparently, not many potential employers held back. Also, people on
minimum wage tend to be younger and have limited education. They are the
most vulnerable to economic downturns in this country.
Nevertheless,
the sound bite doesn’t reflect Bachmann’s real suggestion for one way to deal
with unemployment in this country.
That’s
equally true with most of the other claims, statements and comments broadcast
in some form by the media. Unfortunately, we don’t take the time to
examine them carefully, logically and systematically before the social
pendulum begins swinging in the other direction again.
Then,
too, there are far more people. There are about 7 billion of us
now. If even only 1 percent follows a particular ideology, there’s still
a ton of people involved. With communication, they can sound far louder than
their comparative puny numbers.
Mostly,
though, the reason why philosophies shift so radically lies in education.
People are more educated on paper. A greater percentage of
Americans hold college degrees than ever before. In the 1940s, only
5 percent of Americans held bachelor’s degrees. By 2002, the total was
more than 27 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And we trail
many industrial countries – 40 percent of Finns, for example, have degrees.
People
today are more knowledgeable. Any question can be answered via the
internet. Information is readily available on any topic.
However,
people seemed to have stopped thinking. That’s a skill not being taught
in school. Because of the emphasis on testing, schools now teach facts,
not comprehension and discernment. The founders of this country
understood the difference. They recognized a democracy cannot survive
undereducated voters. They didn’t want the masses to vote, only
landowners who, presumably, had done well enough because of their education and
intelligence to comprehend complex issues.
Today,
instead, people are bombarded with sound bites that fail to illuminate an
issue. It’s easier to accept the pithy comments as accurate. It’s
faster. It’s less complicated.
Unfortunately,
such limited comments create wild gyrations in opinions and interfere with
everyone’s ability to make wise decisions. Logic and clear thought just aren't sexy enough.
Long-time
religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious
history. He also speaks at various
religious organizations throughout Florida.
You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.com. He is the author of the famed Unauthorized
Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel
Writers Get Their Information; Noel:
The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative
Religion. His books are available on Amazon.com,
Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.
He can also be followed on Twitter.
You
can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at
http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1
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