vision2020
Re: opt out?
Visionaries:
Actually, we have powerful government controlled USA media right now. Apart
from the common argument that the mainstream "free" media is really
government and corporate controlled through a variety of means, we have
OFFICIAL government media: The Voice of America still broadcasts in multiple
languages to the whole planet, featuring editorial opinions officially
stated as the position of the US government. There is also the Armed Forces
Radio and Television Service. And PBS is at least partially tax supported
and though supposedly free to broadcast "uncensored," in reality look at the
pressure brought against PBS here in Idaho in recent years over
controversial content. Clearly there has been an attempt to control PBS
content from the Idaho government. Tax supported can mean government
controlled.
I understand Douglas to be objecting that education is always biased and
"government controlled" if tax supported, especially with the legally
mandated separation of church and state in the schools. In the similar
manner that people would object to newspapers being tax supported and thus
subject to the bias and control the government could impose, Douglas claims
that if you are against tax supported newspapers, then you should also
question tax supported schools.
The public schools in his view thus do not ensure for the provision of
education in society in a truly free unbiased manner, anymore than tax
supported newspapers could be said to provide for the free flow of
information in an unbiased manner.
I suppose though that it might be possible to be tax supported and unbiased
and not government controlled? If so, this complicates things.
Douglas would claim, unless I have not heard him correctly, that the
exclusion of the Christian Bible from the curriculum of public schools means
the public schools are not ensuring for the education of society in the
manner he thinks to be essential, but are preaching an alternative value
system, a different kind of "stealth" religion, that he might call "agnostic
secular humanism," or the "value neutral religion of the Enlightenment,"
that he finds offensive and exclusionary to his religion.
Tax funded street lights do not involve the control of information that the
government might impose, as in the case of both education and newspapers,
and so might be subject to differing legal circumstances and rules regarding
taxation.
Douglas, if I am wrong in my assessment of your position, let me know.
Ted
>From: thansen@moscow.com
>To: "Troy Merrill" <troy1@moscow.com>, <vision2020@moscow.com>, "Douglas"
><dougwils@moscow.com>
>Subject: Re: opt out?
>Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 00:19:25 GMT
>
>Greetings Visionaires -
>
>Government-controlled media? Sounds like something out of Nazi Germany or
>the
>Soviet Union (neither of which exist any more).
>
>Tax-financed schools ensures for the provision of education in society.
>
>Government-controlled media extremely limits information available to the
>people.
>
>Enough said?
>
>Tom Hansen
>Moscow, Idaho
>
>
> > Douglas said:
> >
> > > I did not say that they were equal. But they are analogous. What
>argument
> > > can be brought against tax-supported newspapers that cannot also be
> > brought
> > > against tax-supported schools? And such arguments would not work if
> > applied
> > > to street lights.
> >
> >
> > I think that government provision of education and street lights are
>more
> > analogous than the government controling education and the press.
>Society as
> > a whole benefits because its members are literate, i.e. they can read a
> > newspaper. Society also benefits from night lighting on public avenues,
>i.e.
> > it reduces accidents. Society does not benefit from the government
> > controlling the press, i.e. we have less information on which to hone
>the
> > skills aquired in the public schools.
> >
> > Troy Merrill
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Douglas" <dougwils@moscow.com>
> > To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 4:18 PM
> > Subject: opt out?
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Dear visionaries,
> > >
> > > Judy LaLonde wrote:
> > >
> > > Public newspaper does not equal public education.
> > > Faulty logic! Shame on you.
> > > *********************************
> > >
> > > ??????????
> > >
> > > I did not say that they were equal. But they are analogous. What
>argument
> > > can be brought against tax-supported newspapers that cannot also be
> > brought
> > > against tax-supported schools? And such arguments would not work if
> > applied
> > > to street lights.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
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