The United States of America elected a President this year…..2024. Of course, he will not actually become President until January 20, 2025. Believe me all of you great nieces and nephews and all of you cousins, born and yet-to-be-born, this will be an election….and probably an era….that you will read about in the history books no matter how old you might be in the present day. I hope what you read will all be good, but as when I am writing this, the future looks somewhat doubtful. I can almost assure….guarantee you…..that the events of this year are going to have a profound affect on you….if they have not already done so. You will be reading about it in ahistory book. And, hopefully, you will still have that right and privilege. As for me….. I am living in the midst of it. An eye witness to history, you might say.

Our country is in trouble. If you are a breathing human being, this assertion probably does not come as a shock. Like they say, you don’t have to be a nuclear scientist to figure it out. Our population…..the people of the United States of America….are polarized…..intentionally polarized…..by the people whom we elect to public offices. It would seem that our elected officials….politicians…..are more interested in their jobs…..in getting reelected that they are in the well-being and future of this country.

Let me give you my assessment of when, how and why the political situation has deteriorated to its present status or condition.

From my viewpoint and experience….and my lifetime…. the change in attitude of the American people toward the government and elected officials dates back to the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was a very unpopular war. A significant number of people vigorously opposed the war. A large proportion of these people were young people, although the opposition was certainly not limited to young people. The reasons for the opposition were varied and diverse.

Certainly, ranking among the top reasons was the fact that fighting a war in South Vietnam was fighting in the war was not in our national interest. Back in the early and mid-sixties, there was an almost irrational fear of communism, at least by a large majority of elected governmental leaders and the population in general. To be fair, communism was no doubt the major fear of most of our population. We had been conditioned to both fear and hate communism. The media at all levels bombarded us constantly with the evils and the consequences of communism. And, also to be fair, a lot of the indoctrination was valid. There is probably little doubt that major communist countries such as the Soviet Union would have liked to dominate the world…..that they constantly made hostile and provocative threats.

In the case of South Vietnam, it declared its independence from France in September, 1945. Ho Chi Minh was its president. Ho Chi Minh sought recognition and support from the United States. Harry Truman, who was president at the time, declined to give such recognition and support, motivated by the staunchly anti-communist stance that prevailed in the USA at the time. Ho Chi Minh, in fact, admired the principles of the American Declaration of Independence, and appeared willing, if not eager, to apply them to the newly formed nation of Vietnam. However, the USA chose, instead, to stand with France in its colonialism rather than recognize Ho Chi Minh’s government. This decision to support France in its colonial efforts ultimately led to the escalation of tensions in Vietnam and to the eventual and ultimately very controversial and unpopular involvement of the USA in what would become the Vietnam War.

In my opinion the second incident that eroded the confidence and faith in our government officials was the Republican break-in at the Democratic headquarters which was located in the Watergate office and apartment complex in Washington, D. C. This was in June, 1972. That simple bungled break-in led to the unraveling of a dark web of lies, deception, covert operations, cover-ups, along with other illegal, not to mention unethical, activities within the Republican Party and the Nixon administration. Instead of simply admitting to the American people that the break-in did, in fact, occur….that it was a mistake…..that those involved would be dealt with…..and that it would not happen again (I am not saying that all of these assertions would have been true.), Richard Nixon, the Republican president at the time, for some reason chose to deny the entire affair. Due to the persistence and diligence of the American press, the seemingly insignificant incident burgeoned into a scandal whose tentacles reached into the very heart of the Nixon Administration and eventually brought down the presidency of President Nixon. In my opinion…..and in my own lifetime……these two events, indeed short eras in American history, are the events that emboldened the American press to speak out independently and not be constrained by what the government wanted them to print.

I am not even going to get into the fact that our government has ignored or marginalized large blocks of racial or ethnic minorities, not to mention low economic groups, because they have been perceived, rightly or wrongly, to have no political impact at the ballot box. In most cases, once a person has been elected to a political office, he (or she) usually forgets that they were elected to serve the people. It becomes all about themselves, their perceived power…..and most of all, about being reelected and staying in office. This is a discussion into itself….. But, I believe, it is certainly a reason people have largely put little faith or trust in their elected representatives.

Let’s move on to another reason people have lost their perspective, understanding and ability to make sound, informed and objective choices and decisions in regards to their government, and to be specific, about choosing their elected officials.

As a former educator…..administrator, teacher, counselor and coach…..I will be the first to say that our education system is failing us. One of the major goals in education is to enable people to gain a sufficient and workable knowledge of the structure and mechanics of our government, of our history, of our geography, of our sociology and of our political system to be a “government of the people, for the people and by the people”. In other words, one of the main goals should be to educate students to be good and well informed citizens.

The ballot box…..our right to vote for and choose the people who will make laws for us and who will carry out those laws…. is nothing less than a sacred right. It, in reality, is the our only means of meaningful participation in…..and control over…..our government.

Somehow it seems that our education system fails to understand this important concept. In my opinion preparing students to be good citizens is the most important purpose of education. Public education should be designed to give students the tools to be successful in their personal and family life…..in their social life….in their job environment…..and certainly in their understanding and participation in political life. Only citizens who understand and are prepared to make well-informed, intelligent and wise decisions can insure that our democratic republic will survive.

Let’s make a brief review of how our schools are performing to fulfill their role of preparing the youth of this nation in achieving these goals. And, just to make sure we are on the same page, I am not talking about teaching students to balance check books, make budgets, change a tire…. This is also important…..but it is not the problem I am talking about.

Nationwide an average of 79% of adults in the USA were considered to be literate…possessing the ability to read….in 2022. This means that 21% of American adults were illiterate….who do not possess the ability to read.

However, 54% of Americans have a literacy rate below sixth-

grade level. This is more than half of the nation who can read, but only at the level of a 6^th grade student. Or to put it another way, they can read at the level of a 12 year old child. For all practical purposes, this means that more than half our nation’s population are probably dependent on other sources in order to obtain information.

Only 13% of high school seniors in the USA were able to pass the American history test. The other two levels that were tested didn’t much better. Just 22% of 4^th graders and 18% of 8^th graders scored “proficient” of better.

Let’s take a look at some additional scores. In 2022. less than half of the adults in the USA….47% to be exact…..could name all three branches of our government, down from 56% in 2021. Less and 1 in 4…24%…could name each of the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment of our Constitution. Let’s take a look at each of the freedoms individually as cited in the 2022 study:

Freedom of speech was correctly cited by 63%.

Freedom of religion was correctly cited by 24%.

Freedom of press correctly was correctly cited by 20%.

Right of assembly was correctly cited by 16%.

Right to petition the government was correctly cited by 6%.

Well…..What do you think? Does this sound like a population who has the knowledge and understanding to make intelligent decisions about the future of the nation?

Our educational content has been severely diluted and twisted to meet the demands of a myriad of social, political and religious groups…..and that is not even mentioning the radical groups on both the left and the right. Since education is a matter left to each individual state, there are literally 50 different brands of education being taught in public schools. Education should be standardized across the nation. At least, educational content. Of course, It is not difficult to recognize why such matters as bond issues, taxes, hiring, etc. should be in the hands of state and local officials. They are local, not primarily state or national issues. They involve the spending of money that was taxed locally usually through bond issues which appear on local ballots.

But, in so many cases, people who are educated and have the knowledge and the experience in the educational process are not the people who make decisions about what is being taught in our public schools. Most decisions are made by elected and non-elected officials and both the state and local levels. Having worked in public education for forty years at all levels…..secondary, middle school and elementary school…..I know that many of the things we teach are forced upon us, not because they are necessary and useful for a student’s future and the future of our country, but because it is the viewpoint or fantasy of a political party. Facts cannot be changed. History cannot be altered to fit the fantasy of a social or political sentiment. And, no public official or politician can simply declare that something did not happen. All they can do is hide the facts.

And, having served on a local school board, I have experienced first-hand that most people elected to a school board know little or nothing about teaching, about learning or about the realities of actually conducting the process of education and giving students the knowledge and understanding and skills to become well-informed and responsible citizens and voters. I would venture to say that most people who run for a school board are doing it because of the perception of power or prestige they think it gives to them. Or, and this is equally important…. They have a gripe or a grudge or a pet project they want to push. Or they run with the illusion of protecting or hoping to advance the status of their own children. Or they believe that being on the school board gives them unlimited influence when dealing with teachers and other school personnel. The function of a school board should logically be limited to such things as setting overall policy for the school district, setting an overall budget, perhaps approving large expenditures of money, maybe hearing and settling grievances and disputes arising from the public……and, most important, hiring a good qualified superintendent of schools who will effectively run the school district and make day to day decisions and execute the policies determined by the school board. All educational decisions should be left to those people who have training and expertise in dealing with educational problems.

Certainly, I am not saying that there are not good, well-informed, educated and dedicated people on school boards. There are. However, there are enough of the kind I described to cause real and profound problems.

The same is true on the state level. Remember anybody with a heartbeat can pretty much run for office, with only a few exceptions. In order to be elected to a local school board or to the State Board of Education, a person is not required to have any background in the field of education…..not even required to be a high school graduate. On the state level, politics play a major role…..trying to perceive what will be the popular thing to do…..what will get them re-elected…..what reflects their own set of beliefs.

If the purpose of education is to prepare students for a productive life….to give them the skills and knowledge and understandings which are the foundation of good citizenship, to help them grow and flourish in their personal lives, as parents, as active participants in their communities, to help them make sound and informed decisions, to give them the tools to become intelligent voters and participants in the political process….. Well, emphasizing math and science is not going to accomplish that mission. And, neither is any attempt to rewrite history or to intentionally withhold information

Let me tell you: I cannot do the first problem on the first page of the first book in algebra. But, I know how to add, subtract, multiply, divide…..not only plain old numbers, but also fractions and decimals. I can measure almost anything you want measured…..and to it accurately. In fact, I have built everything in my living room except for the recliner and the TV. I can count money, and I have a pretty good grasp on how to balance my checkbook (back when we used them) and to make and stay within a budget. I even taught six grade math for more than twenty years…..and I think most of my students are living normal, productive lives now. Never in my life…..not even one day…..have I said to myself, “Oh, I wish I had taken more algebra or geometry or trigonometry in school.

When it comes to science…. Well, let me say that I understand enough to have lived, rather successfully, for more than eight decades. I studied biology, physical science and astronomy in college……and passed all of them. I know everything I need to know in order to understand how to live a successful everyday life. You can’t fool me: I know that if I drop an apple it is going to fall downward and not up into the

sky. I know that it is not a good idea to touch an electric wire. I know that I have to get plenty of exercise and eat a balanced diet……and a lot more, too. The stuff that I do not know….believe me, it has not interfered with my life whatsoever. Most of the special science courses are useful only to those people who are employed in special fields in science or who have a desire to pursue careers in scientific professions. And, that is good. I will leave the development of new medicines, new products, new life improvements to them. That is their job. My job was to be a teacher, counselor and administrator. I have a feeling most of the “scientists” would go bonkers if they had to teach a class of grade school or high school students…..or deal with irate, sometimes irrational, parents.

Most important, however, I have a pretty grasp of our political system and our social system. I am pretty well equipped to discern truth from fiction; truth from lies; fraud from reality or honesty. I am in a good position to vote intelligently and to make informed decisions on issues facing our local communities, state and federal governments. I know and understand the difference between propaganda and truth and reality. I know how to fact check what I hear and read…..and learn the truth. I like to think that it is difficult for anybody to “pull the wool over my eyes”!

How did I acquire these abilities? Certainly not by the math and science courses that I took in high school and college! I learned them by taking classes in history, government, geography, civics, sociology….. And, I also learned them by my ability to read….and read widely in a variety of different subjects, sources and viewpoints. Being exposed to and absorbing a wide variety of knowledge about our past and the resulting consequences of those events is a large piece of the puzzle in understanding the events that take place today.

It is probably a trite saying….but: History often repeats itself. We must learn from the past in order to make intelligent choices and decisions to live in the present and in the future.

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OK…. Let’s move on to another reason the citizens of our country are failing as good, responsible, well informed citizens and voters. I didn’t learn it in school, but like most people of my age, I learned how use a computer….and to embrace the possibilities it has to offer. And, to be sure, there are a multitude of possibilities. If you own a computer, I am not going to waste your time enumerating all the positive uses of which you can take advantage. I use my computer constantly. It makes my life much simpler, easier and convenient. For example….Good old Amazon! And Temu!Because of the ease, the convenience and the never-ending selection of products…..and because I have a severe aversion to going into a Walmart store….I do much of my shopping online. Sending messages is much easier and quicker, and talking face-to-face on Skype or WhatsApp is awesome. This was pure science fiction when I was young. I do my banking online now. It is convenient, it is easy, and I have constant access to my banking information and records. Except for one or two notable exceptions, I pay all my bills online. The payment is instantaneous, and I have an immediate record of payment. No longer do I have to travel to a bank, and no longer to I have to wait until the end of the month to examine my payments and bank balances. I have instant access to an overwhelming range of information that was not immediately available before the introduction of the Internet.

This last point is where many of the problems with the Internet begin…..Information! “Google this.” or “Google that.” As the Internet has continued to develop, the amount and scope of information it contains has become almost overwhelming. The problems with the quality of this information has also multiplied. The amount of misinformation, distortion, deception and out and out lies has become a genuine problem for the entire human race.

Acting under the guise of “freedom of speech” and “freedom of press” the Internet has become the repository of information that is often difficult to discern its reliability, authenticity and truthfulness. This is especially true on the so-called social media sites….Facebook, You Tube, Tic Toc, Instagram, Snapchat and X…..just to mention a few.

These social media platforms were originally conceived as places where friends could interact with each other, stay informed of what friends are doing, share information and ideas. But, as with a lot of well-intentioned endeavors, they have been thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted with users who have misused and abused this original objective. Many, if not most or all, of the social media platforms I listed have been drastically changed in the past several years. They have been steadily transformed from places where people can interact with friends and also expand their circle of acquaintances with similar interests. The transformation has taken a dark turn…and unhealthy turn….and perhaps an even dangerous turn toward the spreading of mis-truths, half-truths, deception and just plain old lies.

It can be very difficult to distinguish between truth and lies or misinformation. The person who stays abreast current events and who can read and interpret the written word objectively and often skeptically is more likely to discern the difference between the two. However, there are an abundance of people who have no idea how to make that distinction. Why? First of all, people tend to believe what they want to believe….whatever supports their biases or prejudices. Then, there are those people who are not well informed, who will believe lies and misinformation because they are ignorant of the true facts.

Social media is similar to a disease. If you are constantly exposed to the same information day after day, you are probably going “to catch” whatever you are exposed to. In the case of a disease, we can….and should…..take precautions to avoid contracting that disease. We go to a doctor or a clinic and get a “shot” or a vaccination or immunization against the disease. Many of us will perhaps do some research to learn what we can about the disease…..maybe how it is spreads, and what we can do to avoid getting it.

In the case of social media, we can also take such precautionary measures. What is the source of the information? Who is behind it? Does this square up with the facts? Does it seem on the level, or does the information seem like a baseless attempt to spread mis-information? Is the information something you have encountered in other reputable, main-stream sources? Is the name of the author given? If so, did you look up information about the author? Did you search for the primary source document….who originally said it or wrote it? In what context? For what apparent reason? Did you independently verify the information in other reputable sources?

All too often users of social media are prone to accept what they read as being the truth, just because it appears on a printed page. Or because it was re-posted and “liked” by other people. This is one of the times when a solid education in history or government or social studies becomes valuable. This is one of the times when critical reading is important. This is one of the occasions when the ability to exercise a healthy skepticism can pay off. It is often a good idea to say, “This stuff is nonsense!” or “This is a bunch of bull!” And, then maintain that attitude until proven otherwise.

People without the foundation or knowledge to discern truth from fiction…..facts from lies….propaganda from reality….are like a herd of sheep running blindly and unquestionably toward an almost certain disaster. The people who publish lies, mis-information, distortion of the truth realize this fact! They count on it! And, they are all too aware that there are millions who fit into this category.

So….. The lesson to take away from this is “Be Aware!” Always question everything you read on social media. Challenge everything! Just assume that it is probably false….that you are being taken in by somebody who thinks you are naive enough or ignorant enough or gullible enough to believe what they are saying. Yeah…. Go ahead and read it, if you want to. But, read it as if you already know it is false or misinformation or propaganda. Stop and remind yourself, “They don’t know any more than I know!” They certainly do not have any special insight or understanding or information that is special to them. What makes them so special? Read it, be entertained by it……but don’t believe it.

I want to mention another disturbing statistic from American life today. According to reputable polls, one-fifth of the American public get the majority of their news from so-called “social media influencers.” Roughly an equal number of people from each political party regularly get their news from the so-called influencers. Caucasian Americans are less likely that other racial or ethnic groups to turn to influencers for their news….around 17% compared to Hispanics at 30%, Asians at 29% and Afro-Americans at 27%. Also, adults in lower income brackets are more likely to receive their news from influencers. About one-fourth of those with low incomes get their news from influencers compared with 21% of middle income earners and 16% with higher incomes.

Out of curiosity, I checked the Wikipedia web site and learned that there is far in excess of 500 of these so-called “experts”. It had a partial list…..the most influential or most important or those with the most follower….something like that…. And…..I had not heard of any of them. Zero! Zip! Have I been getting my new from the wrong place for all these years…..listening to NPR, watching PBS and CNN and the three major networks and News Nation…..paying attention to the Associated Press, Reuters, etc? I took the time to look up some of the “influencers” on the Internet. Most of them I simply could not find. Those that I did find were identified most commonly as “an Internet influencer”…..a rather ambiguous and doubtful title.

What do these people know that I don’t know? What do they know that the major TV and radio networks don’t know? What to they know that the major print media do not know? Do they have some privileged information that nobody else has? Are they blessed with special insights that have eluded the rest of the population? Of course not! They don’t know any more than the unsuspecting readers and viewers they have reeled in. People tent to listen to those individuals who share their same beliefs…..who help reinforce their point of view. If this is how you prefer to get your news, why not just ask the check-out clerk at Walmart? Or the guy working behind the counter at McDonald’s?

It is strange that people simply accept the word of somebody they know nothing about only because they are hearing what they want to hear. This points out or reinforces the fact that a large number of people here in the USA…..and I suspect many of these are young people…..simply lack the education and knowledge to discern the difference between the truth and the misinformation and garbage which they are accepting as “facts” or “the truth”. This reinforces the fact that education is important….especially education that has taught facts about United States history and United States government. And not only the knowledge of the USA, but indeed the entire world. We cannot correct mistakes unless we know what they are. We cannot do the right thing unless we know what is right. We cannot lose our way or stumble over garbage in a dark alley if we have a flashlight to light the way

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OK…. There is a final factor that contributes heavily not only to our gaining information…..but to being brainwashed with misinformation. Many people accept anything they read on the Internet as being the “truth”: “But, I saw it on the Internet.” Some people also share this attitude toward what they hear and see on the ubiquitous twenty-four a day news channels. “But, I heard it on TV!”

Keep in mind….always keep in mind…..that those twenty-four hour a day news channels are not primarily in business to inform you of the truth. They are in business to make money! Period!

When I was growing up, we originally got our news on the radio….usually a 15 minute news summary at noon, another at 6:00…..and maybe another one at 10:00, although I was rarely awake at that time to even worry about it. These newscasts were brief, succinct and to the point. Who, what, where, when and how. Just like that. Give the facts and get on with it. Get back to the program.

Aside from the regular newscasters, there were a variety of radio commentators or “columnists”. They “reported” the news, but with their own interpretation. And, everybody knew that. There was really no covert plan to “change” the facts or of subversion. And, I am going to go out on a limb and say that most of these commentators were conservative. My parents and my aunt and uncle on my dad’s side of the family would listen to some of these commentators regularly when they came to visit…..which was fairly often. And, let’s face it…. For the first 21 years of my life, I grew up listening to these guys on a regular basis. I really didn’t have much choice….and even I did, I had no idea they were “conservative”.

Most of these names are not going to ring a bell with you. However, they were “big” back in their day: Gabriel Heatter, H. V. Kaltenborn, Fulton Lewis, Junior, Walter Winchell…. I’ve got to say, they were captivating speakers. Sort of disembodied voices, but still fascinating to listen to. Of course, as a small child, I had no idea or concern about political philosophy. But, my parents and my aunt and uncle seem to hold on to every word.

It seems that my aunt and uncle came to our house almost every Saturday night. It was sort of a ritual: Listen to the dramatic, forceful, “authoritative” style of Gabriel Heatter or the almost frantic style of H. V. Kaltenborn or the more laid back, but equally self-assured Fulton Lewis. Jr. As I said, I was only a small child….maybe in the age range of 5 years old up until I was perhaps 11 years old. For some of that period, we didn’t have electricity. But, that didn’t interfere very much. We…mostly “they”….listened to our battery powered radio. It was what came after the news that I was waiting for! We listened to the “Grand ‘Ole’ Opry” on WSM in Nashville until it ended. Or, at least, that is what I assume. I feel asleep long before that!

The important thing that I remember most about all of this, aside that we enjoyed some close family time together, was that even back in “the good old days”…..the days of radio….there was a wide variety of differing political views, both conservative and liberal. My parent and family just happened to listen to the conservative point of view.

During all this time there were some rather historic and monumental events taking place. In the early days of my recollection, of course, there was a world war…. World War II to be exact. President Roosevelt has just died, and Harry Truman has succeeded to the presidency. The first atomic bomb was dropped. The war ended. President Truman was saddled with the daunting task of transitioning from a war society and war economy to peacetime….jobs, housing, education…. Then, as now, there were crippling strikes in many phases of the economy. A little later on Joseph McCarthy started an investigation of the infiltration of communism in our government and society. He could have been one of the first conspiracy theorists!

Of course, there were differences in opinions. There was political unrest and controversy. People took sides. But, the important things were: No president ever advocated storming the Capitol Building; no president ever tried to overthrow an election…..nor did radio newscasts.

For the most part, radio news programs were short and to the point: 5 minute summaries…..15 minutes at the most. As much news as possible was packed into these programs. There simply was no time for interpretation or opinion. The people were not accustomed to it…..they were not expecting it…..nor did they want it. “Just tell me the facts.” Maybe people were more accustomed to doing their own thinking back in those days. Of course, I was just a little boy, but never did I hear anybody….my parents, my relatives, my teachers, my neighbors, people at my church…..say: “Wow, I wish we had some idiot sit and explain what is going on to us! We just can’t figure it out!” Yeah…. I know. That is an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

In the 1950’s, radio was still king! But, television began to make it appearance in our society. I was a sophomore in high school….1953…when KTVH in Hutchinson, the first TV station in Kansas…. came on the air. Up until that time, the nearest TV station was in Oklahoma City. A insurance agent….and part-time appliance dealer in Sterling….”McKelvey’s” to be exact….had a TV in his store. They would turn it on in the evening for people to see. I am not going to use the word “watch”, because it was inside the store, and we were all outside looking through the window. And, most of the time the picture on the screen was very poor…..snowy, as we said back then.

When the TV station in Hutchinson opened, we, like many, many other residents nearby, bought our first TV set. Along with the TV set came the necessary TV antenna which was mounted on top of our house. Believe me…. Having a TV antenna on top of your house was a real status symbol back in those very first days. Back when KTVH first started broadcasting, the programs came on around 5:00 in the afternoon, and the station closed down at midnight, after displaying a flag and playing the national anthem. The remainder of the time either the screen was blank….or there was a so-called “test pattern”. We were even fascinated with the TV set. We would simply sit and watch the test pattern! (Which, admittedly, was more interesting that some of the program of today!) Even the broadcasting tower, which was located east of Hutchinson, was a tourist attraction!

As the station got its footing and got its technical problem solved, the TV station added additional hours. At 6:00 and again at 10:00, there was a 15 minute summary of the news and weather. I am not sure how the “newscasters” were chosen. This was several years before universities started adding TV journalism to their curriculum. I can imagine they were former radio announcers…..or just as likely….somebody who had no prior experience at all.

At any rate, they would sit at a desk and read the news…. Yes, just read it! Most of it was very inconsequential. Occasionally there would be a still photograph or illustration. Film would come along later down the line. Another guy would read the weather. This was long before the days of meteorologists. The weatherman just pointed at a crude map and paraphrased the National Weather Service forecast.

I remember one of the first “columnists”…..and that probably is not a very descriptive word. She was a middle age, slightly rotund lady….the wife of a local mortician, I think. She could not have cared less about the news. She would invite local people of interest to appear to discuss their organization or maybe an upcoming function. There was certainly nothing controversial….or interesting…..there.

After KTVH joined the CBS network, a national newscast began to appear on the schedule. Soon two more stations were introduced…..one affiliated with NBC and one with ABC. In the first years, the national news programs were 15 minutes long! Five days a week. Some of the original newscasters….more accurately, news readers….were John Charles Daly (who became more famous as moderator of “What’s My Line”), Douglas Edwards, and John Cameron Swayze (who became even more well-known advertising a brand of wristwatch). The were followed by guys like Walter Cronkite for CBS (consistently voted “The most trusted man in America.), Chet Huntley and David Brinkley for NBC, and Frank Reynolds for ABC. And, of course, here was Hugh Downs of the “Today” show. Later names like Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw came along.

But, there were still only three major networks. PBS would appear on the scene, too, but its mission was somewhat different. And, the newscasts were still only 15 minutes long. The transition to a 30 minute newscast did not come easily! Local stations fought it! In their opinion, it was simply stealing time from them. Sponsors along with network executives had serious doubts if they could hold the attention of an audience for 30 minutes….or find enough material to fill up 30 minutes. Well…..obviously they could….and they did!

To be fair, the three TV networks did begin to broadcast news interview shows fairly early in the game. “Meet the Press” was the first “in depth” news interview program in 1947. A short time later, in 1954, Face the Nation signed on, and in 1967, Washington Week. None of these programs had a political agenda. They were a forum to discuss and understand important news events of the week.

It wasn’t until 1980 that Ted Turner launched CNN, the first 24 hour news channel. Actually, I don’t think anybody thought it would last through the year. Who was going to sit and watch the news? And, for 24 hours a day? Many people thought Turner was crazy and that the network would soon fail and go off the air. But, guess what? People apparently did want to sit and watch the news. I had a friend who could….and would….sit for literally hours and watch CNN. Maybe it was the novelty, or maybe she actually loved to watch news…..or maybe she literally had nothing else to do. (Which I suspect may have been the case!)

At first, it was a novelty. Somehow CNN stayed on the air. Other 24 hour a day news channels began to emerge when they observed the CNN was actually making money and attracting a viewership. As one might expect, one 24 hour a day news channel is a novelty. But, five 24 hour a day news channels….then 10 round the clock news channels…..and 25 such stations. How many is enough? How many are too many?

Instead of one channel searching for viewers and sponsors, now there are a bunch of them…. For a few years, CNN had the field to itself. They only had to attract viewers….not compete for them. They only had to attract sponsors…..not compete for them. If you know anything about math at all, you realize that if you are given a pizza, for example, it is yours. You can have it all, the entire pizza….eat it all….maybe even throw away what you do not want. But, then suppose siblings or friends start coming in and you are forced to share the pizza. It’s not all yours any longer… Let’s face it: There is the pizza, lying there in front of you…..your siblings and friends will all starting to take a piece of it. It is not going to magically get bigger. Somehow, you have to divide what is in front of you into more and more pieces.

This, I believe, is what has happened with the news media….especially the all-news, twenty-four hour a day news channels. So, if you are the guy with the one whole pizza that you thought was yours alone…..what to do you do? I suppose you could try and not let them take any of the pizza…Slap their hands, cry and make them feel sorry for you, take the pizza and go into another room, call your mother and tell her that somebody is taking your pizza, maybe even deck them, if you are big and strong enough, or if you are generous, maybe you can get another pizza to share.

That approach does not work when the “pizza” is a twenty-four an hour day news channel. There is a finite number of TV viewers, especially those who watch the news. Even more important to the TV industry….there is a finite number of advertisers and advertising money to be divided up and distributed. After a while, it becomes “the survival of the fittest”! And, let’s not forget there is also a finite amount of “news”.

So….What can they do? And, even more relevant is WHAT did they do. So, let’s take a look at this…..in no special order.

One of the most obvious tactics was to stake out a niche…claim their “territory”. Left wing….right wing? Conservative….liberal? It doesn’t take a lot of creativity to realize that people are going to listen to whatever supports the beliefs they already hold. They will listen to somebody who affirms or nourishes their beliefs. It is much like our interactions in daily life: We like to talk with people who agree with our opinions and point of view. It seems to validate our point of view.

Thus, we have the birth of political “news” sites. Major examples that come to mind almost instantly are Fox News, Newsmax, CBN and OAN. News channels such as these make no pretense of presenting a balanced or impartial interpretation of the news. Facts are certainly not relevant; accuracy is not relevant; truth is not relevant. Most other channels devoted entirely to reporting the news at least make an attempt at presenting a fair and accurate presentation of the news.

This is a major problem. However, another more common problem is simply the problem of how to fill up twenty-four hours of continuous news. Come on, now….there is only a finite number of news making incidents which take place on a normal day. Yes, we all expect some repetition. The same news will, out of necessity, be repeated. But….every half hour….for 24 hours?! How many viewers are going to sit still for that long before falling sound sleep?

There are some solutions….tactics, maybe we should call them…..that news networks use. The most common, in my viewing experience, has been to call in “experts” and “analysts” to “explain” the news to us clueless viewers. We apparently are not bright enough or “aware” or “sophisticated” enough to understand. It is sort of like a parent explaining to a kid how to tie his shoes…..or explaining why we shouldn’t get into cars with strangers….of why we have to turn up the heat when it get cold.

Yeah, I know…. This sounds pretty negative. But, in large part, I think it is true. Somehow, they have to fill up twenty-hour hours….day after day after day. One might ask: Who are these experts? Where to they come from? What makes them experts? For the most part, all of them have titles of some sort to make them sound authentic and qualified. But, in reality, they don’t know any more than you and I. They all want to sound important….like they are on the “inside”. Just think for a minute…..If what they have to say is “news”, it would be reported as news…..and not, “Now let’s call in this expert and see what he has to say…..” Mostly, they have no idea what they are talking about.

Just as a side note…. You know, I could be an “expert” in several areas…..even a cabinet secretary! Secretary of Defense, for example. I spent three years in the Army….one of them in South Vietnam. I worked as secretary to the Adjutant General, US Army Vietnam. Now sounds rather impressive, doesn’t it? Or maybe Secretary of State. After all, I have traveled abroad many times. I even lived in South Vietnam for four years! And…. I ate lunch with the Prime Minister! Imposing….right? Maybe I am over-qualified to be Secretary of Education. Wow… I spent 40 years working in the field of education, both here in the USA and in South Vietnam! I could settle for the position of Secretary of Agriculture. I lived on a farm for the first twelve years of my life. I can readily recognize cows, pigs, chickens…..Oh, a wide variety of farm animals. Oh, Oh….And I spend several summers hauling wheat, plowing fields, bailing hay….

I think maybe you have gotten the idea by now. Just because you can spell a word or have spent time working in a field, does not make a person qualified as an “expert”. Yet…. Pay attention the next time you watch TV…..and then wonder what makes these “experts” so special….. Maybe they know more “book learning” or more abstract theory. But….How would they really know any more than you when it comes to actual facts? They have to watch the news just like you and I.

But, yet this happens all the time. “Now let’s go to Professor So in So and see what he thinks.” Or “Let’s talk now to So in So. He worked in the Clinton administration.” Who cares? That certainly does not mean he necessarily knows anything about the present situation than you do. So…. It doesn’t take a lot of smarts to imagine that if a news channel is opposed to something…. They get somebody is who is going give a negative “facts”….i.e. opinions! And, vice versa for the other side.

OK…. Enough of this… But…. Before I leave this subject and move on, there is one more brief point I would like to make.

Have you been to a movie lately…..or watched TV. Just for this reason alone, a person does not have to be a nuclear scientist to figure out that the movies are fantasy…..and many times violent fantasy. It is very rare these days that movies contain much realism: Monsters, alien beings, cities being completely destroyed, spacecrafts bombing civilization into oblivion, political systems being ruled by fictitious, grotesque beings. Chaos, disorder, lawlessness, anarchy, turmoil. Are things like this becoming our role models? Do we really believe that these things happen? Is this our reality?

What has happened to good, realistic, wholesome movies…..movies with a believable story to tell? Movies that teach values? Movies that demonstrate that it is not necessary to depend on violence or outrageous fantasy to be entertaining. Are we in danger of accepting this sort fiction as our reality in “real” life, too? Are we becoming a nation that is not capable to determining what is right and what is wrong? Of what is real and what is not real? Of expecting outlandish, make-believe actions and words from our leaders?

I have always believed….and still believe……that the basic problem here in the USA is NOT the politicians. Our long history has kept proving over and over that once a person is elected to a public office, the most important goal is to be reelected! Politicians are like very almost all employees in almost any setting: They want to preserve their job. In the “real” world, an employee has some choices on how to achieve this. The most desired….and probably the most honorable…..is to simply do the best job they are capable to excel in serving their employer and to provide a high quality service to those they serve. Or, they can “get in good” with their employer and hope that incompetence or laziness will be overlooked in favor of friendship. Or they can covertly work to subvert their employer’s best interest in favor of their own. In any case they will endeavor to do what it takes to hold on to their job…..and possibly take advantage of it.

In private business or industry, any good employer will fire a person who is working against the best interest of the company or business. After all, the purpose of hiring an employee is to do a competent job serving his employer and promoting the best interests of his employer. If they are not doing a good job, indeed, if they are actually working against the best interest of the employer…..It is probably “Good Bye”, “Get out”. I will find somebody who will actually do the job they are hired to do.

However, in the case of the government…..and this applies to all levels from village government up through the federal government…..the “boss” is the people….the constituents who vote, or at least, should vote.

And, here lies the basic problem. The “boss” or “employer” of elected public officials is the people who elect them.

As I have attempted to point out, many voters in the USA….those who actually take the time to vote…..are not well prepared to make those choices. Many times….to0 many times….the “employees”….the elected officials…..often take over and run the show. And…. Why do they do this? Simply because they can!

It has occurred to me that many times, people have to be protected against themselves. Correcting the problems I discussed above should…..and probably will…..take care a lot of the problem. Until then, changes need to be made in our Constitution to help insure that some of the problems we face today will be alleviated to some degree.

When our Constitution was adopted back in 1789, the people who wrote it and approved it had no idea…..not even a faint premonition….of the society in which we find ourselves living today. And, how could they?

I am going to attempt to explain what I would do if I were in charge of writing a new Constitution. I will explain changes I would make and hopefully, make sense of them. I know what I am going to say may seem radical…..a definite departure of the way things have been done. These are my thoughts and vision. And, I am quite sure they would not be changes that will….or would….ever be made by our existing government.