I have been struck recently by how much is being said and published by politicians and their supporters that is outright wrong. The latest attempts to rewrite slavery as a time of “family values” for African Americans is yet another example (see today’s New York Times). I am beginning to think that this has a lot to do with the complexity of the changes in the world around us. With many people confused and threatened by change the doors are opened for demagogues and false prophets. It is so much more reassuring to just follow someone and believe whatever they spout than to try to understand for oneself. At the same time the Internet has given these mis-leaders a way to reach a global audience. This is yet another reason why we will face some scary challenges to our way of democratic governance. It will be very interesting to see if Americans Elect can in fact harness the rational or will be dominated by the extreme.

PS Hoping to return to something less gloomy tomorrow!

I have been struck recently by how much is being said and published by politicians and their supporters that is outright wrong. The latest attempts to rewrite slavery as a time of “family values” for African Americans is yet another example (see today’s New York Times). I am beginning to think that this has a lot to do with the complexity of the changes in the world around us. With many people confused and threatened by change the doors are opened for demagogues and false prophets. It is so much more reassuring to just follow someone and believe whatever they spout than to try to understand for oneself. At the same time the Internet has given these mis-leaders a way to reach a global audience. This is yet another reason why we will face some scary challenges to our way of democratic governance. It will be very interesting to see if Americans Elect can in fact harness the rational or will be dominated by the extreme.

PS Hoping to return to something less gloomy tomorrow!