Music Playlist for September 2010
Each week we broadcast six New Dimensions programs four times a day. Click here for this weeks listening schedule.
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The Enemy of Democracy
by Michael Toms
When I was growing up in Virginia I remember a “poll tax,” which was required in order to vote. In effect, it was a repressive, anti-democratic measure to inhibit poor people, African Americans and others from actually voting. Thankfully, some years later it was eradicated as an unconstitutional infringement on a basic American freedom. Now we face a new and insidious version of the “poll tax.” On Tuesday, September 25, 2001, the front page of the New York Times displayed a headline, “Poll Finds Support for War and Fear on Economy.” Based on a survey of 1,216 adults, presumably across America, eight in ten say, “They will forfeit some of their personal freedoms to make the country safer;” seven out of ten consider themselves “very patriotic;” 92% say “America should take military action.” The article goes on to say, “The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.”
This media creation, much like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, is as dangerous to our freedoms as the “poll tax,” because it too, is a fundamental attack on democracy, as envisioned by The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. Each of us is an individual human being. Each of us is an original. Each of us has our own life experience, perceptions, biases, hopes, fears, memories and so much more. Media polls are literally a tax on our freedom to think, to arrive at a decision through our own unique process. Polls lump us into groups, audiences, markets, consumers, clicks, etc. Polls are always variable and are a product of the questions, the context, the moment in time and they result in someone making judgments about what “we” think. I was not a part of this poll. Were you part of this poll? This poll does not speak for me. Does it speak for you? I am struck by the phrase “very patriotic”, which according to this poll, seven out of ten people consider themselves to be, and yet I don’t agree with much of what this poll presumes to state on my behalf.
The Oxford Dictionary definition of patriot is, “One whose ruling passion is the love of country.” Certainly one of my ruling passions (we all have many), is love of my country. The Latin origins of this word come from pater, patris, meaning father. Going beyond the Latin root back to its Greek origins, the substance means love of our ancestors and ancestral roots. Returning to the poll, three out of ten citizens do not consider themselves, “very patriotic.” What does this mean? Who is asking the questions and why are they asking them? How are they asking them? The reality is that each of us has our own individual perception of what our personal patriotism means. I have mine; you have yours. Polls kill dialogue. They destroy democratic action. This is a time for dialogue. This is a time for coming together in community, deep listening, and deep questioning. There are no quick answers. I urge you not to allow polls to influence your thinking, imagination or creative process. Join with me and other American citizens who are suggesting that there are other ways of perceiving and responding to the challenges we face at this time.
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