21 Dec 2016

I feel much more informed in the past five years or so than I have ever been. Twitter can take the credit for this. Confusion normally follows in equal amounts. There are new terms such as “safe spaces”. These have developed in universities where all views are accepted, except for views challenging those views. Unless, of course what you are doing threatens someone’s accepted view. Then you’re out, and debate is stopped in its tracks.

Identity politics is a new thing. I think it works along the lines of gender, colour and religious affiliation. You’ve been identified to be in a certain group, and you are good, bad, or just not qualified to have an opinion – no matter how well-informed – because you don’t come from that group.

There’s Alt-Right, whatever that is. And the left have dissolved in to nothingness. They don’t know what to expect. Was Fidel Castro good or bad? He certainly gave the USA a good kick in the shins. So, good on him. And every county has been responsible if the “missing” and tortured.

These are examples of things I would never have thought about. Everything I ever knew was from television, and to some extent radio. School can take the credit for teaching me to read and write, although I feel that I would have got along just fine with out them and found myself years ahead from where I ended up. I remember something about the titanic, World War II, and a chap from New Zealand getting to the top of Mount  Everest.

Hillary did get to summit the highest mountain with Sherpa Tensing, but there was no mention of the ladders, and scaffolding that got them there. And the impression we were left with is that they climbed it. It was a military expedition.

Education needs to be excellent for all. But even with that we get the history of the world that any given government decides to give us. Take for example the Boxer Rebellion in China. Or something that should be common knowledge – how World War I started.

We need a good background for find out why some countries, or people hate other ones so much. And they need a full understanding of why they hate us.

So, when something is happening in the world I can look it up and learn something. This can give new evidence, and maybe challenge some of my own views.

Twitter is not real news, though. I want top quality television news. I don’t want the news to be based on what was posted on Twitter. And I certainly don’t want politicians posting their deepest condolences for the latest human tragedy on a blogging site.