It was as if a poltergeist had suddenly entered his body. Grandpa as Linda Blair. Not long after, he began spouting dark conspiracy theories about those "murdering Clintons "who killed Vince Foster." It was obvious he'd been listening to Rush. Because of my liberal politics, he began to refer to me (his own grandson) as a "Clintonite." A decade later, Rupert Murdoch--that noble purveyor of truth--launched Fox News. The network that fully unleashed the hell hounds of political nihilism, becoming the state TV for our most autocratic president.
I urge all Americans to watch The Brainwashing of My Dad (2015), an important documentary by Jen Senko (on Amazon Prime), which shows the damage this network has done to our body politic. Stoking anger, fear, and division, turning friends, neighbors, and family members into venom-spewing conspiracy nuts; a situation that paved the way for the demagogic rise of Trump.
We are so much better than this as a nation. We can, to quote Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday I was born on, once again appeal to the better angels of our nature. Media can be a source of light, learning, and hope--not darkness, division, and despair. I speak from experience. As an educator, I've often wondered why my profession is hardly mentioned on TV. Since education is (supposedly) essential to a healthy democracy, is it not also in the "public interest"--to quote the Fairness Doctrine?
Ten years ago, with the help of my wife--a scientist who hails from Bogota, Colombia--we decided to counter the negativity in our media by creating our own TV show, Public Voice Salon: an open dialogue on education, the arts, and social change. Though mostly under the radar (we appear on NYC public access and You Tube), we've managed to feature some of the most brilliant humanistic thinkers of our time. People like labor scholar Stanley Aronowitz, education historian Diane Ravitch, and literary critic Harold Bloom.
Humane and critical public intellectuals who, in a better world, would be on the Big Shows.
We also featured our friend the philosopher Nel Noddings, known for pioneering an innovative theory of care in education. Nel believes the primary function of schools should be to create caring human beings and good citizens, not better workers for the global economy. The way Nel sees it, schools should care more about helping students become decent human beings and good civic actors than landing that cool marketing job at Goldman Sachs. The kind of education that would make one think twice before joining a marauding horde of vandals bent on invading the Capitol.
If America is to avoid a new Civil War, when people flip on the TV, they ought to see more people like Nel Noddings--who add light, love, and rigorous ideas to public discourse--and less of that gang of vapid, lying, hate-filled propagandists whose names rhyme with Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham. Call your congressman today and demand they reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, and pull the plug on the scourge of right-wing media. While we still have a democracy left.
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