The All-American Dissident

Monte Reid, November 19, 2010, Essay #2, COML 509 B2 Fall
Dr. Alexander Kuskis, Gonzaga University




Introduction
When is it proper and just to raise one’s voice against the status quo? Exactly where is the line drawn between traitor and patriot? These were questions the founding fathers of the United States dealt with and they are questions we are still dealing with today when individuals raise their voice to question the endless flow of disinformation that trickles down from positions of power. To answer the question “is there room for the dissident in today’s America?” we need to recall these important words:
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation (U.S. Declaration of Independence).

Were it not for dissidents among the early American colonists, there would be no United States of America. Our country has always fostered dissidents. It’s in our blood. Imagine, what this nation would be like if our forefathers had acquiesced as King George did everything he could to tax the spirit of the early colonists? Where would we be now? Certainly not a nation, and the words to our national song My Country Tis of Thee would still end with “God save the Queen.” Let us therefore remember:
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security (U.S. Declaration of Independence).


Same problems different landscape
The geography of power has changed much over the past 234 years. Institutions, communication media and industry are all interconnected and seek to form the conscience of society according to their own agendas. The populace acclimatizes and life goes on until a dissident begins rocking the boat with words and thoughts that would call people to wake from their slumber of complacency with the status quo. The words and thoughts of people like Noam Chomsky might be unsettling to many, for they cause us to feel uncomfortable. Yet, they are necessary. Intellectual dissidents are not armchair quarterbacks complaining of how they would have done things, but they spur us to carefully weigh information presented to us with analytical and thoughtful minds.
However, when debating for change there are those who are blinded by their preconceptions and will not see another’s perspective. Can a paradigm shift open our minds to other possibilities? For centuries, the world was flat and anyone suggesting they could reach the East by sailing west was considered insane. In retrospect, we wonder how anyone could ever have been so simpleminded. Still, there are pundits today who hang on to their positions as tenaciously as a bulldog with a bone. In a recent interview on the David Letterman show, Fox news anchor Bill O’Reilly asked Letterman if he wanted the United States to win [the war] in Iraq. For O’Reilly this was a simple question and when Letterman did not come with an immediate answer, O’Reilly asked impatiently, “What’s the matter! It’s a simple yes or no question?” To which Letterman replied, “For you maybe, but I’m thoughtful.” (Youtube, 2006).


What price freedom?
According to Jesus, the truth shall set you free (Jn 8:32). Unless you are in a country that does not allow freedom of speech; there, the truth can land you in jail. Our freedom carries with it a great responsibility to speak out against injustice. In fact, more so than in a country where actively speaking out may be cause for imprisonment. Case in point; the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, principle author of the Charter 08 manifest calling for political reform and an end to Communist one-party rule in China. Xiaobo has been thrown in prison and his wife is under house arrest. And even though the Chinese government has tried to censor the manifest and Internet access to it, many students across China are aware of it and adding their signatures. Now, even intellectuals loyal to the Communist Party have recently begun demanding political transformation in step with China’s economic reforms. Mao Zedong’s former personal secretary, Li Rui, in an open letter has called for the National People’s Congress to “abolish censorship and realize citizens’ rights to freedom and freedom of the press.” (Spiegel Online International, 2010).
The bravery and dissent of Xiaobo, and his global recognition through the Nobel peace prize, has opened the door for the possibility of real change for over 1.3 billion people. All too often, people feel that the safest way forward is the road of complacency. However, choosing not to choose is a choice as well. It is a choice for the status quo and supports whatever ills and inconsistencies institutionalized power may be enforcing upon the populace. When the marionette mouthpieces of these institutions here in America label those who disagree with them as “un-American”, they need to look in the mirror. Perhaps the dissident is the true American.

Conclusion
The questions our founding fathers addressed July 4, 1776 have changed little over the years. The play is the same, only the names have changed. Is there room for the dissident in today’s America? I believe so. The role of the dissident is to call us to reason, regardless whether our present reasoning is sound or fallible. It is a lonely voice “crying in the wilderness” of disinformation. It is the voice that helps us maintain our balance and keeps us from falling into one ditch or the other as we navigate the road towards a just and fair society.


References

Lorenz, A. (October 19, 2010). Nobel Peace Prize Inspires Chinese Dissidents. In Spiegel Online International. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,723808,00.html.

Fuyb. (October 30, 2006). Letterman loses it [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKftpGB03vU

Manufacturing consent noam chomsky and the media. Chomsky, N., Achbar, M., Wintonick, P. and Symansky, A. (Directors). (2002).[Video/DVD] New York: Zeitgeist Video.

Outfoxed rupert murdoch's war on journalism. Greenwald, R., Cheek, D. and Cronkite, W. (Directors). (2004).[Video/DVD] New York: Disinformation Co. Retrieved from http://www.outfoxed.org/; Materials specified: Accompanying web site:http://www.outfoxed.org/

United States Declaration of Independence

Tulips, trains and the Internet

Monte Reid, November 1, 2010, Essay #1, COML 509 B2 Fall
Dr. Alexander Kuskis, Gonzaga University


Introduction
Down through history, civilization has seen a great many changes in both technology and culture that have profoundly impacted the way people lived their lives, done business and planned for the future. Some of these changes have resulted in temporary shifts in economy, whiles others have been more systemic in nature and produced lasting ecological change. A brief description of two of the world’s “greatest booms and busts” provides perspective to the systemic change brought about with the introduction of the Internet and its ongoing expansion.

Tulip mania
In the early part of the 17th century, the Dutch tulip market saw an unprecedented demand for high quality tulip bulbs. Fortunes were made as people invested and even mortgaged their homes to buy highly sought after bulbs. At times, trading sessions rivaled the feeding frenzy of the Wall Street Stock Exchange just before the closing bell. In 1637, a single Semprus Augustus bulb was reportedly traded for 12 acres of land (Mackay, 1841).

Unfortunately, in February1637, the hyper-inflated economic bubble burst along with many hopes and dreams for a better life. Prices plummeted to a fraction of their former value, leaving the country in deep economic straits. Many private investors, bankers and companies lost everything they had, leaving them in utter ruin.


United States railroad expansion
More than two hundred years later, near the end of the 19th century, the United States saw a rush to build railroads as the country expanded. Dozens of railroad companies sprang up almost overnight to capitalize on new markets opened by this technology. Competition was fierce and business was rife with unscrupulous characters willing to do anything to insure success and the wealth that would surely follow (Grodinsky, 1962).

In 1893, the bubble burst for the railroad boom just as it had done some 250 years before in the tulip market. The ensuing period of cutthroat volatility, mergers and bankruptcies left the market with only a handful of surviving railroads.

There is, however, an important difference between the two crashes. While the Dutch tulip boom and bust resulted in a deep national depression and some market legislation, it was more economic in nature and did not lead to a basic change in the way people did business or lived their daily lives.

On the other hand, the railroad boom of the 1880s and 90s, and the bust that followed, left the United States with a new infrastructure that impacted business and lifestyle on many different levels. Railroads opened vast new supplies for raw materials such as minerals, lumber, agriculture and crops. New towns were established along the routes accelerating westward expansion. Jobs were created, communication enhanced and low-cost transportation became a reality. The establishment of the railroad system had brought about a lasting and systemic change.

Dot com or bust
A close parallel between the railroad boom of the late 19th century and the dot com boom and bust between 1995 and 2001 is easy to see. Both expanded rapidly, burst and left lasting changes in our society. The establishment and growth of the Internet is nothing less than a worldwide systemic change.

Communication theorist Neil Postman suggests that with any introduction of technology, there are trade offs. There is a disproportionate advantage to a few and it will be not merely additive, but ecological in nature, i.e. wide-sweeping and permeating all levels of society (Postman 1998). The American Indian lost land as settlers moved in, fortunes were made as immigrant workers slaved for a pittance and the railroads brought about a true systemic change in lifestyle as mentioned before.

The Internet too, saw similar effects, as large international players were suddenly able to access previously unattractive, smaller markets. Mom and Pop record stores in small towns across the world saw customers dwindle as iTunes appeared with its online music catalogue of millions of tunes at a much lower cost and easier accessibility. On the other hand, small entrepreneurs could now reach out to large international markets with their ideas and products, if they had the capital to invest in the proper equipment and possessed the right knowledge to master the new technology.

Conclusion
While an economic crisis can indeed be devastating in impact upon the masses, it is often only temporary as shown not only by the Dutch Tulip Mania, but also our recent recession of the last few years. However, when there are major technological advances that provide systemic change, such as with the expansion of the railroads and the Internet, mankind is able to reach beyond itself to a new level of existence.

Postman also suggests there is an “epistemological, political or social prejudice” in every great technology (Postman 1998). Here too, the chasm is widening between those who have and those who do not. The list of Internet winners and losers is now being written. There are homeless who search for their next meal, there are people who live in developing countries, often living on two dollars a day, who can not afford a pair of shoes, much less an internet connection or a cellular phone plan. These unfortunates can only watch as the rest of the world leaves them behind in a technological black hole that is almost impossible to escape. What can be done for them? What should be done? What will be done?

References

Grodinsky, J. (1962). Transcontinental railroad strategy, 1869-1893; a study of businessmen. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Mackay, C. (1841). Memoirs of extraordinary popular delusions. London: R. Bentley.

Postman, N. (1998, March). Five things we need to know about technological change. Speech presented at Denver University, Denver, CO.