Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
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 .
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.
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We don't get it now, nor have we gotten it in my lifetime. What we have gotten is agenda-drive analysis masquerading as even-handed analysis. Most of the analysts are not even aware of their biases.
I could mention a half-dozen hot-ticket issues, but to mention them would side track this thread even more.
Besides, who decides which analysis is worthy of dissemination? Your opinion? mine? some big corporation's?