Posted by alexandra_k on May 1, 2015, at 22:41:52
In reply to Re: not doing so well, posted by alexandra_k on May 1, 2015, at 22:25:53
i think...
popular opinion carries too much weight in this country. i've been thinking more... i think the law school has perhaps corrupted me, a bit. i learned that lawyers here have a lot less power than lawyers do in the US... I suppose I knew that already... But I guess I thought it was a good thing. But now I'm wondering who has the power that the lawyers have and the answer seems to be the politicians... And the politicians... Are about the people...
And the people are so easily manipulated via advertising and by the media. And who is the major sponsor of the media? The government departments / politicians...
And I do kind of think that politicians don't have much power, either, insofar as government advisors really run the show and they are constant through changes in government... But perhaps... Perhaps it is the 'more local' council level...
Anyway, whatever...
So here's the thing... No matter what is the case what seems to matter is what people believe to be the case. Whether the people believe that we have a wonderful health system or an awful health system. Whether the people believe that elective surgeries waitlists are shorter than they used to be no matter what is actually the case. Whether the people believe that everything was done for them vs that there was a medical error. Whether the people believe that our health system is efficient or whatever. Manipulating / controlling what the people believe...
So one gets to... Have more than most. And have the people be okay with that.
I guess.
So... Vanuatu has this storm... Natural disaster. And so NZ is sending all this 'help / aid'. And the leader of Vanuatu is saying that he wants the money to go through him. He doesn't want New Zealanders spending the money how they see fit (probably focusing on internet for surveilance and port and roads for trade) rather he wants control of how the money is spent.
And so we hear that he is corrupt because he drives a new car. So the thought is that we can't trust him to spend it, we best go in and spend it how we see fit. And this is what we communicate to our people on the news. And... See how the people respond, I guess. Whether our people lap it up, or whether there is an outcry.
That seems to be the news... I watch it and think... They are testing us... Seeing how we will respond. Whether we will lap it up.... Or whether the people might actually get a little bit upset about some of the stuff that's going on.
Is the US currently having a civil war? Sure looks like y'all got some race riots etc going on... But then you see how people behave after a football game... And sometimes it can be hard to know what's going on... Looking at what's happening in some countries that are supposedly full of war... And thinking 'sure that isn't a footie game??' So very impossible to tell without the commentary, huh.
Thank god for the commentary. Otherwise... How would we know what to think?
It is upsetting that universities don't teach people to think anymore. Critical thinking... I see...
They are trying to teach us that appropriate referencing is saying things like 'the health situation is much improved in nz (reference ministry of health website). referencing the 'grey literature' (websites) is appropriate. not even saying 'the ministry of health says that the sistuation...' but saying: the situation is improved. Not even 'I believe the situation has improved since reading that' but reporting it as fact: The situation has improved (grey literature reference). That's... Academic, people. Thinking skills.
People are getting rich(er) off carparks. Students gotta park somewhere. Or... The administration / support staff that are employed out of the money that is being made off of student fees.
You got out of academia, huh, Bob. I... didn't want to teach their either. Yeah...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1078452
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20150214/msgs/1078618.html