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Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward
It seems to me that instead of "peace" through "firepower", you're recommending "freedom" through "corecion". When any government starts pushing the production of writing, the result is propagenda, not enlightenment. If you agree with what the government is pushing, it won't seem like propaganda to you, but to the mythical "man from Mars" it would certainly seem to be.
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Actually, I'm not advocating coercion at all or any specific program. I'm just thinking that the government should give some kind of incentives- maybe like a MacArthur Prize- for writers to produce the kind of nonfiction that would make for a more informed citizenry. I have to do more thinking on the issue .
My point is a world of cheap, abundant genre fiction with too little informative nonfiction is not optimal for the long term health of of society .
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I will also note, that without gatekeepers, more diversity in thought and opinion is available now that any time in American history. The internet is the golden age of freedom of thought...not just for America, but for the world.
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Diversity of thought and opinion is a wonderful thing. But it ain't informed analysis by people who have researched the facts and written about it. You don't decide about whether creationism should be taught in schools , whether gays should have an equal right to marry, or whether "firepower" would resolve our issues with Iran by sampling opinion on the Internet- just to think of three weighty and contentious issues. We need folks who are willing to do that research and analysis and inform the public by writing about these kinds of issues, and companies who will publish it , instead of just pushing out the cheap popular stuff.