Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - November 1, 2015
Please note: These show notes may be in various stages of completion -- ranging from brainstormed notes through to well-polished monologues. Please excuse anything that may seem rough around the edges, as it may only be a first draft of a thought and not be fully representative of what was said on the air.
The skills gap we aren't discussing
- Increasing complexity
- Increasing specialization
- More distractions
- More distance from the do-or-starve era
What's with the extremism?
People are overreacting to increasing complexity in the real world (technology, economy, etc.) with a demand for over-simplification in the political world. It seems reducible to the terms of pop culture and entertainment, so that's what they demand. Hence Trump, overemphasis on polls and horse race stuff, and the extremes of talk radio and television.
Disinhibited antagonism
The political and social equivalent of the Tasmanian Devil from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons: Unpredictable, recklessly destructive, possessing no productive instincts.
Their power derives from their unpredictability. Lacking the drive to build toward something, they turn to the reckless destruction of other things.
Putin, Trump, perpetually mal-educated underclass
Would feel differently about socialism as the cure if it hadn't been so soundly discredited as a solution -- only works under tightly controlled conditions, and we don't have that kind of control.
Unpredictability can be a powerful strategy: I recommend it as a response to terrorism and particularly kidnapping/hostage-taking. But it's quite different as a reaction *to* a destructive act (like terrorism) than as the foundation *for* destructive acts.
It retains its power when used destructively, but it calls for a different response: Steady, practical, and relentlessly constructive.
Whatever Rick Snyder means by "relentless positive action" in Michigan, the sentiment is exactly right. Our protagonist must be seen as persistently, tirelessly trying to build up, even in the face of Tasmanian Devil behavior.
This week
Tin Foil Hat Award
Yay Capitalism Prize
Quote of the Week
"Commerce is the child of Industry and an unprecarious Property; but these depend on virtue and liberty, which again depend on knowledge and Religion." - Benjamin Franklin
Listen on-demand
- Podcast of this episode (forthcoming)
- Official station page for this episode (forthcoming)