"Select Company!"

Are you easily led? Do you always follow the leader in every instance? I think most Americans are pretty independent in their thinking, and we don't like to be thought of as "lemmings" that will follow the pack "over the cliff". When I was in school, most of my teachers encouraged independent research and thought on their subjects. You could get extra credit from some teachers if you proved you actually took time to do additional research on specific projects. I liked history very much, so additional reading wasn't much work for me. History and English were my favorite classes; although math and science were never much fun for me: I gave them my best shot. I would often read sections of my geometry books over and over again to try to grasp the "beauty of geometry"; although it often escaped me. I would use the high school library and our community library when working on term papers in order to get the most viewpoints on the subjects I was researching. One author or teacher can never give you a complete picture of any academic pursuit; the more knowledge the better! If a teacher tells you to disregard the teachings of others, it should raise a "red flag" about that teacher; he is trying to close off your mind!

"The chief function of propaganda is to convince the masses, whose slowness of understanding needs to be given time so they may absorb information; and only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on their mind", Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda under Adolph Hitler. Mr. Goebbels job was the management of the minds of the people of Germany, and silence those who opposed the NAZI philosophy. Literature, music, newspapers and public events were censored by Mr. Goebbels organization. There was also an attempt to censor mail and private conversation. Violation of NAZI policy could result in deportation, imprisonment and even death in a concentration camp. News management is a bad thing. Limited information is a bad thing!

Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) expressed his opinion on cable news outlets recently. His idea of free expression is to ask the F.C.C. to shut off MSNBC, FOX NEWS and other cable news outlets. I guess too much information seems like a dangerous thing to Senator Rockefeller. He said "It would be a big favor to political discourse; to our ability to do our work here in Congress....". I find the Senator's statements very disturbing. What work is he doing in Congress that outside examination would cause it damage? When are less examination and less knowledge better? Narrow viewpoints lead to starvation of the mind. Whether conservative or progressive, all opinions and all facts must be open to examination in the public forum. When Mr. Rockefeller makes these types of remarks, he should be very careful as he is putting himself in some very "select company". I hope he doesn't want to be the next "minister of propaganda"!