Robert P. Goldman wrote: > As the parent of a couple of MPS students, I'd encourage us to focus > on what the school district could or should be doing about this > bullying issue. It's tempting to fall into arguments about whether it > is the fault of liberals and the 1960s, or capitalism and violent > television, but it's not clear how productive that is, since all of > these are beyond the control of the Board of Education and > Supt. Peebles.
I'm not losing focus here, I'm narrowing focus. The root problem is based on the fundamental beliefs and attitudes that people hold and act on. The solutions you propose will be based either implicitly or explicitly on what you believe. If these beliefs are erroneous then it is unlikely that your solutions will be effective. As in science, the more closely your models portray reality the more accurately you will be able to predict and affect the world around you. I feel that the same is true for social theory and politics. If you hold beliefs about human nature that are inaccurate then the political solutions you attempt to implement will be frustrated. If you are unwilling to discuss or examine your own cultural and political assumptions then all of the discussions we have here are a rhetorical exercise with little value to anyone other than to reinforce what you already "know" about the world. I'm not sure about you, but I'm here to share, discuss, learn, and reflect. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
