The Power and Promise of Humane Education
Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times
Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs
So, You Love Animals: An Action-Packed, Fun-Filled Book to Help Kids Help Animals
I had a hard time falling asleep last night after ABC’s Democratic Debate. Had Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos really spent almost half the debate asking trivial, relentlessly rehashed gotcha questions to primarily Senator Obama and secondarily to Senator Clinton? I was teetering on despair. How on earth could we change anything if the level of our discourse is so inane, irrelevant, and, forgive me, just plain stupid and obnoxious?
Where were the questions on transforming education in the U.S.? On global warming, massive species extinction, and other environmental challenges? On the health care crisis? On growing anti-American sentiment and terrorism? On war?
When we finally heard a question ostensibly about the oil crisis, it was phrased thus: “What are you going to do about $4/gallon gas?” Is that the best question these supposedly highly intelligent newsmen could ask about the looming energy crisis that the whole world faces? When we finally got a question ostensibly about the failing U.S. economy it was “Do you promise not to raise taxes?” Is that the best question to elicit meaningful answers to the serious economic problems we face?
This is why we need humane education – desperately and immediately. A generation taught to be critical and creative thinkers, with in-depth knowledge of global issues, and the tools and motivation to seek out viable, visionary solutions to problems will simply not stand for the dumbing down of our politics. That generation won’t be watching embarrassing debates like we saw last night. Those newscasters among them will ask brilliant, relevant, important questions of our visionary, committed, and honest future candidates. That is, if we raise that generation.
We need to get to work – first by letting ABC know what we think of last night’s travesty and next by building a humane education movement that reaches every school, every teacher, every child, teen, and young adult.
~ Zoe
Filed under: critical thinking, humane education Tagged: | ABC, Barack Obama, critical thinking, debates, Hillary Clinton, humane education, politics
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There are individual news reporters who try to make a positive difference by refocusing the general public’s attention on things which could make a positive difference. Once I began to understand how the media affects the behavior of the public I began to make a tremendous effort to find and print stories and ideas which would create healing, peaceful ripples in society. For a long time my dream was to start a newspaper or magazine which was specifically designed to share ideas which would calm people down and create healing, peaceful ripples in society.
Just like I did, a man who used to work for the mainstream media began to comprehend that the mainstream media was making bad situations worse by printing stories that agitated the general public, and then he started a magazine that was designed specifically to share news which would lead to positive change and ideas which would help people to grow in a productive manner. The magazine is called Ode.
The man is much older than me, but he underwent the same transformation I did. My experience in journalism was short lived, but it was a very important learning experience. I started off naive. I did not comprehend that newspapers create the news by sharing ideas which people either copy or base their opinions, thoughts and actions on. Eventually I did begin to comprehend that the newspapers were creating the news by sharing ideas which people either copy or base their thoughts, opinions, and actions on.
And then I began to understand that a lot of what got into the newspaper was either extremely misleading, distorted, or false. There are an infinity of ways for the wrong, or misleading, information to get into a newspaper, from the most well meaning, well intentioned mistakes, to outright lies intentionally fabricated for all kinds of reasons.
I personally witnessed an event which was reported by the mainstream radio, and what happened there was nothing at all like what the radio said happened. The radio report was absolutely false. I do not know if the report was an unintentional, well meaning mistake or not. But I do know that it affected the thoughts, opinions and actions of millions of people despite the fact that it was completely false.
Though I used to read newspapers avidly, with rare exception, I no longer watch or read the news. What little I know about what is going on now comes from reading magazines like Ode, Yoga Journal, VegNews.
With regard to the current candidates. Perhaps there is a time to vote for an alternative party, such as a person or party which is specifically trying to further environmental or social issues which lay close to the heart. If every single environmentally conscious person in the entire country (and there are a lot of us) chose to vote for a party or person whose main goal is to get environmental or social change in, instead of compromising by voting for the mainstream candidate who comes closest to representing our views, what would happen?
I do believe that it is possible for one of the alternative candidates to take the Presidency. Maybe what we need to do is focus our attention and support on people who come closer to our views, instead of compromising by giving into the misconception that it is impossible for one of these alternative candidates to win. One of the alternative candidates can win, if we put ourselves into getting them in.
Yes, any questions to Democrats that dont allow them to bash Bush for the entire debate is unfair.
Please.
I don’t know if I am particularly slow, or what, but it took me a long time to comprehend that the purpose of voting is to bring in someone who is likely to represent and further your own goals. I think because, when I was little, I was told whom to vote for and what to think, and never allowed to question what I was told, I lost the ability to comprehend the entire purpose of voting.
I know comprehend that I am allowed to question the way things are laid out, to challenge the way things are laid out in order to see if they are really true or not, and to have my own system of values, separate from the values of those whom raised me. As a matter of fact, my value system is nothing like the value system of the people who raised me. I value things which they do not value, and vise versa.
I now comprehend what I personally value, and I comprehend that I want a leader who will help to bring about the things I myself want. For example, I want the environment protected because I don’t want to breath in chemicals or worry about what kind of garbage is in the stream water when I go hiking, so I will try to vote for someone who is likely to protect the environment.
I want a lot of money put into teaching children how to live in a whole-istic, humane, compassionate, well educated, experienced manner, so I will look for a candidate who is likely to put a lot of money into teaching children how to live in a balanced, whole-istic, well educated, compassionate, humane manner by providing them with text books and activities which foster a balanced mentality, a comprehension of how their minds, and the minds of other people, are swayed by the media and other outside influences, and a comprehension of how to interact with all people, animals and the environment in a productive, compassionate, understanding, well educated and peaceable manner.
In a safe manner, with proper supervision so that they remain safe, I want children to have the opportunity to travel, to interact with other people, particularly people whom they wouldn’t get to meet under normal circumstances, because once I meet a person and speak to them in person, I often begin to comprehend that my view of them was extremely distorted, and what the newspapers told me about them, is completely untrue, or extremely misleading.
I had some frightening experiences while traveling on my own, and I wish that I had had a little more guidance, so we do need to make sure that our children have a safety net around them when they first start traveling, at least until they get the hang of it, but I do strongly believe that traveling is a very important part of the growth experience, and I have seen, consistently, that those who have undertaken serious travel in their late teens or twenties usually turned out much more balanced, educated, alert and competent than those who never traveled or only traveled as tourists under very sheltered circumstances.
Travel does amazing things, when the travel is done correctly. There are people who travel as tourists, and the tourist industry sells them whatever they want to buy, but there are other people who travel to challenge their own perception of reality, and I want to give children the opportunity to travel so they can comprehend that what they are told in the newspapers is not necessarily what is actually happening on the ground.
I was a total ignoramus as a child. I knew nothing. I was raised by uneducated and inexperienced women who had been raised by uneducated and inexperienced women, who had been raised by uneducated and inexperienced women … everything they told us about the world was based on old-wives tales and newspaper propaganda, because they honestly didn’t know any better. They had no reason to doubt the old-wives tales or newspaper propaganda because they had never actually stepped out into the world.
I was lucky enough to have more diversified experiences and come under the influence of more educated and experienced teachers before the damage to my mind was irreversible, and I want, badly, for our children to all have the same opportunity that I did.
I want all children to have access to books, movies, activities and experiences which will help them to truly comprehend why people do the things they do, so that they can interact with all people in a well educated, experienced and understanding manner, so I’m going to look for a candidate who will do everything in his or her power to make sure that children are given books and activities which teach them how to interact with the world in a productive and peaceable manner.
I agree with your commentary about the debate. I had to quit listening because it became irritating noise even though I am quite involved in this election. There was no depth to any of the questions which left only shallow, empty answers much ado about nothing.
To all like minded individuals,
In response to several statements I saw recently I wrote the following letter, or something similar to it, to the following TV stations, in hopes that they would give publicity to candidates who are serious about environmental conservation and humane issues related to health care and education, so that we can publicize a leader who is going to make sure the environment is preserved, reasonable health care is available to all, and our children receive the guidance they need to become competent and compassionate adults. If you would like to modify it, or send it as is, that is fine with me.
Are there any other news networks it should be sent to?
I sent the letter to:
1. NBC address letters@msnbc.com
2. CBS by going to CBS.com and then go to “Feedback” on bottom of the page
3. Fox 5 at myfoxny.com/myfox/ and then go to the top right hand corner where it says “Contact Fox 5″
__________________________
Kind regards,
I would like to see coverage of alternative candidates who are serious about cleaning up and protecting the environment, people and animals by giving support to organizations which foster environmentally friendly living and introducing laws which prohibit businesses from producing products in an environmentally destructive manner.
I would like to see serious coverage of alternative candidates who are going to make Humane Education (as explained by author Zoe Weil in The Power and Promise of Humane Education) along with Character, Peace and Values Education a top priority during their Presidency, along with fostering the growth of programs which aim to deal with all people, here and oversees, in a non-materialistic, peaceable, compassionate, understanding and well educated manner, so that we can all live together in peace and harmony, which can be accomplished by teaching John Marks Templeton’s Worldwide Laws of Life in grade schools.
Please do not waste your precious air space publicizing debates in which two candidates are doing nothing excepts for tearing each other’s reputations to shreds. I want to see intelligent and respectful discussions where real people are sharing definite, peaceable, non-materialistic, well educated and understanding steps they can take to protect and encourage the peaceable growth of all people, animals, and the environment.
Thank you for making the effort to bring to light the efforts of environmentally conscious candidates who want to do everything in their power to foster the growth of a clean environment and well educated, healthy children, here and oversees, along with making sure that all people, both here and oversees, receive the food, health care and education they need to live in a sustainable, non-materialistic manner.
Have a good day.