All week at 7:00 we're going to focus on the word "power". And more specifically, how politicians manipulate us into voluntarily handing over our power to them.
Yesterday we talked about the charlatans of the 16th century and the rhetorical techniques they used to sell their magical elixirs and potions to the unsuspecting masses. Today we call these charlatans "politicians":
"To create a cult, you must first attract attention. This you should do not through actions, which are too clear and readable, but through words, which are hazy and deceptive. Your initial speeches, conversations, and interviews must include two elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and transformative, and on the other a total vagueness. The combination will stimulate all kinds of hazy dreams in your listeners, who will make their own connections and see what they want to see."
Change you can believe in, anyone?
http://media.worldnow.com/kfmbam/podcast/the_mike_slater_show_6139.mp3
Today at 7:00 we talked about how politicians maintain their power over people by making us dependent on them. We used the example of the public education system. No one can even IMAGINE any other way to educate our kids other than the federal government doing it. And if were to somehow shake the department of education, all of our kids will be stupid and society itself will fall apart.
Too many people feel (or are) dependent on the government.
Here is today's 7:00 hour, including the story about Louis XI:
http://media.worldnow.com/kfmbam/podcast/the_mike_slater_show_6150.mp3
Here are some of the facts we used on education spending this morning:
"Hiring has far outpaced the growth in student enrollment, driving down the number of students per teacher in American public schools to 15.6 in 2010 from 26.9 in 1955, according to the National Center for Education Statistics."
"Per-pupil spending in public schools has grown to $10,500 today from $2,831 (in 2010 dollars) in 1961, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Has the spending paid off? Mean scores on the SAT's reading test are down 7% since 1966, while reading scores for 17-year-olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, administered since 1971, are flat over that time."
