14 – An Informed Public?
In my 13th message I wrote,” Informed citizens are needed to better understand …” Some will ask, “Why should us regular people have to understand such things? Don’t we have experts?” I have two answers to those questions.
First, if we already have knowledgeable experts, why is it that we have experienced decades of entrenched poverty among some of our citizens, decades of violence not previously experienced, and hundreds of Mark’s videos depicting a growing number of damaged people?
Second, next year will be the 250th anniversary of a system of government and society that most world political figures thought would soon fail. Previously and now, most governments only education elite-class children. The minds and actions of uninformed people are easily manipulated.
An extreme example is Kim Jong Un, dictator of North Korea. Members of his family go to school in Geneva, Switzerland, at the International School of Berne in Gümlige where he was educated. Educational opportunities are only provided for people that support the policies and narrow-mindedness of the elite. Many North Koreas informed enough to oppose oppressive government become slaves in forced-labor camps.
Today, the morning and evening news continues to report unresolved old and new social negatives many of which are seen in Mark’s videos. Some say our different system of government and society is already failing. Our social system depends on the direct involvement of well-informed citizens. A college professor’s one vote is equal to one vote cast by an uneducated, illiterate citizen. Does the continuation of social negatives indicate our America does not have enough well-informed citizens?
How can American citizens become better informed? Unfortunately, there are misunderstandings about what processes are involved in “becoming informed” as opposed to “attending schools.” It is good for citizens to take advantage of educational opportunities. But outcomes of schools must be considered limited as opposed to citizens pursuing a lifetime of self-learning focused on social and governmental issues.
It is helpful for citizens to be able to read, but not entirely necessary. A great deal can be learned about our system of government and society by watching historic biographies found on the internet such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and many others. Historic era documentaries are available on many subjects such as Ric Burns’ New York: A Documentary Film. All of it is available free on YouTube. Episode Six "City of Tomorrow (1929-1945)" provides insights to today’s challenges.
A person that can read has access to a massive library of information found on the internet. Wikipedia is an important and common example.
But it is important to know that information can be presented in ways to mislead. It is common for accurate, limited news to be reported, but more important information left out. This is true of “news” presented by “conservatives” and “liberals.” A critical part of being an informed person is having a well-developed detector of OMDIPBMB (organic material dropped in pastures by male bovine). Wikipedia is full of accurate information, but false essays are found there also. There are people that can watch a video and have no idea of the meaning of what they are seeing before their eyes. Watch out for OMDIPBMB! 8/1/2025