Post-Election Vision for The Echo Chamber

Here is a message I just sent out to my volunteers:

Greetings all,

I hope you're all taking some time to grieve this loss.

It has been such a heartbreaking week to see the exploitation of so-called moral values pardon an endless list of Bush's sins.

I thought I'd share some thoughts on the election, and try to frame current events in the context of what it means to be volunteering for this project.

I wish it didn't end up this way, but clearly The Echo Chamber is something that is needed now more than ever.

I hope that this project can be used a tool to help bring back rationality and critical thinking to this extremely irrational situation.

If you have one of the CDs to transcribe, then you have an opportunity to make a difference as soon as you find the strength and energy to start moving forward in this new reality.

*** TRANSCRIPTION UPDATE ***
Here are the latest totals:

Footage Loaded: 31.65 out of 44
Audio Extracted: 31 out of 44
Disclosures Received: 22 out of 44
Burnt to CD: 31 out of 44
CDs Mailed: 28 out of 44
Completed Transcripts: 2 out of 44

If you are one of the 15 people who haven't received a CD yet, I am waiting to back up my hard drives and should be able to start loading and mailing out more within the next two to three weeks.

I have CDs ready to send to the following three people as soon as I receive their addresses: Brian Kanowsky, Tab Julius & James E. Powell.

*** WHAT HAPPENED? ***
Did Bush steal the vote in Ohio and Florida with Diebold electronic voting machines? Probably... and they probably suppressed the minor vote and "spoiled" thousands of punch cards from minority districts. I'm sure you've all seen what Greg Palast has been reporting.

But the zeitgeist has passed to make a credible "stolen election" argument since Kerry made his concession speech. There was no smoking gun or real-time undeniable proof of electoral fraud, and any evidence of it now will probably be circumstantial and these discussions are unlikely to move beyond liberal and progressive Internet sites to penetrate the mainstream media.

*** MORAL VALUES ***
But does it really all come down to moral values?

I don't think so -- it seems that it was NOT just the moral-values of the Christian Coalition, but there were also smart, college-educated conservatives also voted for Bush despite all of the facts.

Bush also got a lot of his support from the "Wal-Mart Republicans" throughout rural America who were totally propagandized about Iraq and the War on Terrorism.

There are principled conservatives who would rather not vote than vote for a liberal Democrat -- and some of these people probably voted for Bush just like I voted for Kerry even though I would have really preferred a Dennis Kucinich or Ralph Nader or Anyone But Bush.

We don't live in an ideal world, and many people were forced decided between the lesser of two evils.

It's natural to want to pin the blame squarely on Kerry, Bush, the Media, social conservatives, Diebold, non-voters, Americans trapped in a trance of propaganda, Corporate America or the super-rich Bush supporters, but they can all share the blame to differing degrees.

Everything seems so hopeless when so many of the facts are against Bush. I don't have to list them -- you probably know them just as well as I do.

*** REALITY-BASED COMMUNITY ***
I am hoping that Bush will hang himself with all of the messes that he's created and that all of his lies will soon collapse and the truth will ultimately prevail.

I think we all share the ideal that the American people should make decisions based upon a fact-based rationality. We're probably all members of the so-called "reality-based community."

But our emotions can trump our rational brains when we don't have the critical thinking skills to be able to cut through the propaganda.

So Karl Rove & Co. been able to make people believe these alternative realities made out of whole cloth. He understands the power of propaganda and the use of fear as a tool of manipulation better than anyone else in recent history.

This famous quote from an anonymous White House senior advisor says it all:

"We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

*** WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? ***

How does one counter these "other new realities?"

I don't think that the opposition party should attempt to fabricate their own alternative realities to counter all of the lies of the Bush Administration. This certainly would be a losing strategy since the right-wing talk radio shows would crucify the Democrats.

It seems like the only thing left to do is to use the facts as ammunition until these alternative realities ultimately collide with the truth.

For those of us still in the reality-based community, it is difficult to live in a country where 51% of the people are living in a parallel universe where War is Peace, Ignorance is Strength and Freedom is Slavery.

You probably know some people living in this type of reality.

There is a huge culture gap in this country and it is becoming more and more polarized. This lack of understanding breeds fear and hate and will ultimately lead to violence unless we begin to somehow close this gap.

I think that the biggest first step to reach out and create of bridge of understanding between the Bush loyalists and the anti-Bush crowd.

Most of us despise Bush and consequently probably begin to hate his supporters as much as we hate Bush. At the same time, conservatives are being propagandized by the rhetoric of people like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh who are dehumanizing liberals and spreading more hate and fear.

When conservatives start to see liberals as the "enemy," then they can't hear our fact-based arguments. It is human nature to not listen to other people who we see as less than human.

The first step is to recognize the human cognitive processes that lead us to come to differing attitudes, beliefs and perspectives. Then we can begin to find the common ground and start to mutually discover the points of departure that lead to these differing perspectives.

But both sides must be open to challenging their own attitudes and beliefs in this process. No one has a monopoly on the truth, and part of conflict resolution is finding the grain of truth in your opponent's point of view.

Shoving the facts down people's throats doesn't work. Diplomacy without listening is propaganda and it is not effective. Looking at the Bush Administration's diplomatic record should prove this to you.

I hope that eventually we'll be able to use logical, fact-based arguments to persuade people, but they need to learn basic critical thinking skills to be able to recognize how their emotions are being manipulated through fear and propaganda.

*** SO WHERE IS THIS FILM GOING? ***

It seems clear that another anti-Bush film that preaches to the choir is not going to be all that effective at shifting popular support away from Bush.

What we need is a multimedia tool that helps bridge this culture gap between the left and the right. I'm not sure that we can bridge it by going directly after the reactionary Limbaugh listeners or directly to the heart of the Christian coalition. But what we can do is to go after our conservative family members or friends and start with them at the grassroots and personal level.

If you have friends or family who support Bush, then this no doubt is putting a wedge between your relationship with them. Attempting to act apolitical around them is probably denying a large part of who you are -- a member of the reality-based community who hates to see what is happening to our country.

So wouldn’t it be great if both sides could find a way to talk about these issues without attacking each other. Wouldn't it be great if you could find some common ground to start to talk about these issues that are so pressing?

What is this common ground? The media. Both the left and the right can join together in having grievances against the Big Media. Whether if you think the media gave Bush a free pass or whether they love Kerry too much, then folks on the left and right can agree that there are serious issues with the gatekeepers of information.

The walls of the Big Media is coming down fast, and we’re going to be entering a completely new media environment within the next five years.

So why not use the media as the common ground and a Trojan Horse to start to bridge this culture gap? Then we can begin to talk about other issues and to why our perceptions are so different.

The film will address the issue of liberal media bias vs. ownership consolidation and show that both sides are right and wrong about the bias wars. The bias wars have become a full-fledged culture war and it's time to go to the journalists and get their perspective and figure out what the media are doing right and what they're doing wrong.

By looking at what the media did and did not cover during the build-up to the war in Iraq will our conservative friends a perspective and context to begin to see these alternative realities for what they are -- fabrications manufactured by the White House.

I'm posting the transcribed interviews and the film's content on my website because I want to provide a resource for people to find the truth.

I also want to make this media production process as transparent as I can to minimize the criticisms of what the film ultimately does or does not contain.

When the facts are all laid out on the table, the opposition has very little foundation to make a credible argument.

I'd welcome any feedback on where this project is headed.

I certainly don't have all of the solutions -- that is why I want to make the transcripts of these interviews available so that we can collectively find the best way to bridge this culture gap.

I hope this message has given you a renewed sense of purpose and vision of how we can get out of this mess.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks,
-Kent.

PS - The quicker that I get these transcriptions back, the quicker I can find financial support and have the foundation to recruit more volunteers to make this project happen!!! We could all learn more about how the media participates in creating political meaning and shaping the collective consciousness.

"We're very early into this revolution. But the world is not going to be the same for the major media in five or ten years -- that much I'm convinced of."
-- Interview with Jay Rosen, Chairman of NYU's Journalism department.

Thanks for Helping Kick Start this Media Revolution!