Remember Kids, Only Read Books That Agree With Your Beliefs
Published by Pokerwolf on Friday, June 01, 2007 at 9:30 AM.
Publisher Aims to Teach Kids Right From Left - LA Times
Publishing executive Eric Jackson's first foray into children's books was a cartoon tale of two brothers and a lemonade stand.
Hoping to earn money for a swing set, young Tommy and Lou squeeze lemons until their little hands ache. But they are thwarted by broccoli-pushing, camera-hogging, Jesus-hating liberals who pile on taxes and regulations and drive the boys out of business.
The book, "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!," came out two years ago. Jackson said it sold nearly 30,000 copies, which in the publishing world made it a bona fide hit. That success reinforced Jackson's view that the nation's bookshelves had tilted way too far left and that a correction was in order.
I commend Mr. Jackson for starting his own company and ensuring that his political viewpoint is heard in the public marketplace. Stories have always taught children values, from Aesop's Fables to stories written today. However, by publishing Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! Mr. Jackson is exacerbating a problem, not solving one.
The "dirty secret" that everyone knows, but nobody wants to acknowledge, is that American politics is based on one very important ideal:
Discussion and interaction.
The majority does not always rule, the minority has a voice, and the political parties that occupy those titles change depending on how the populace votes every few years. Those same political parties, aside from doing everything in their power to keep the United States a two-party political system, are doing everything they can (with the help of the media) to polarize politics and restrict political discussion. Why? Simple.
If politics can be boiled down to "'liberal' versus 'conservative'", "you against me", and "us against them", then politicians (and not citizens) can make the laws and run the show. Polarizing political issues into 30-second soundbytes, sensational headlines, and rehtoric using vague, stereotypical, undefined terms like "conservative" and "liberal" causes the following to occur:
1) Most of the populace only listens to what "their" party tells them.
2) Most of the populace blindly believes what "their" party tells them.
3) Most of the populace believes that television shows like Hardball and Crossfire (i.e. a bunch of media people interrupting each other and yelling at each other) are real "political discussions".
4) Most of the populace emulates the "political discussions" they've been shown.
5) Most of the populace does not hear, nevermind consider, analyze, or believe any reports that run counter to their political beliefs.
6) Most of the populace votes straight down party lines. Those that don't vote for "the lesser evil" or "the person who isn't [a specific candidate]".
7) Absolutely nothing changes politically in the United States except for the name of the political party which is abusing its power.
When all of these things are occurring, as they are in our current political climate, there is no respect, discourse, or discussion about politics. There is only a "war" (gee, this template sounds familiar, I wonder where I've seen it before?) that has been created in order to distract the populace from learning about the issues and discussing them instead of being fed political party talking points and regurgitating them like an anorexic that just went on a binge.
By creating and providing a book which has a villian that is a "broccoli-pushing, camera-hogging, Jesus-hating liberal who piles on taxes and regulations", Mr. Jackson and World Ahead Publishing are a part of the problem and not a solution. Teaching children to ignore, and villify, opposing viewpoints will only hurt our culture in the long run.
Publishing executive Eric Jackson's first foray into children's books was a cartoon tale of two brothers and a lemonade stand.
Hoping to earn money for a swing set, young Tommy and Lou squeeze lemons until their little hands ache. But they are thwarted by broccoli-pushing, camera-hogging, Jesus-hating liberals who pile on taxes and regulations and drive the boys out of business.
The book, "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!," came out two years ago. Jackson said it sold nearly 30,000 copies, which in the publishing world made it a bona fide hit. That success reinforced Jackson's view that the nation's bookshelves had tilted way too far left and that a correction was in order.
I commend Mr. Jackson for starting his own company and ensuring that his political viewpoint is heard in the public marketplace. Stories have always taught children values, from Aesop's Fables to stories written today. However, by publishing Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! Mr. Jackson is exacerbating a problem, not solving one.
The "dirty secret" that everyone knows, but nobody wants to acknowledge, is that American politics is based on one very important ideal:
Discussion and interaction.
The majority does not always rule, the minority has a voice, and the political parties that occupy those titles change depending on how the populace votes every few years. Those same political parties, aside from doing everything in their power to keep the United States a two-party political system, are doing everything they can (with the help of the media) to polarize politics and restrict political discussion. Why? Simple.
If politics can be boiled down to "'liberal' versus 'conservative'", "you against me", and "us against them", then politicians (and not citizens) can make the laws and run the show. Polarizing political issues into 30-second soundbytes, sensational headlines, and rehtoric using vague, stereotypical, undefined terms like "conservative" and "liberal" causes the following to occur:
1) Most of the populace only listens to what "their" party tells them.
2) Most of the populace blindly believes what "their" party tells them.
3) Most of the populace believes that television shows like Hardball and Crossfire (i.e. a bunch of media people interrupting each other and yelling at each other) are real "political discussions".
4) Most of the populace emulates the "political discussions" they've been shown.
5) Most of the populace does not hear, nevermind consider, analyze, or believe any reports that run counter to their political beliefs.
6) Most of the populace votes straight down party lines. Those that don't vote for "the lesser evil" or "the person who isn't [a specific candidate]".
7) Absolutely nothing changes politically in the United States except for the name of the political party which is abusing its power.
When all of these things are occurring, as they are in our current political climate, there is no respect, discourse, or discussion about politics. There is only a "war" (gee, this template sounds familiar, I wonder where I've seen it before?) that has been created in order to distract the populace from learning about the issues and discussing them instead of being fed political party talking points and regurgitating them like an anorexic that just went on a binge.
By creating and providing a book which has a villian that is a "broccoli-pushing, camera-hogging, Jesus-hating liberal who piles on taxes and regulations", Mr. Jackson and World Ahead Publishing are a part of the problem and not a solution. Teaching children to ignore, and villify, opposing viewpoints will only hurt our culture in the long run.
