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A miss bigger than a missed story: my final reflections on Trump and the press in 2016 | PressThink

Replied to A miss bigger than a missed story: my final reflections on Trump and the press in 2016 by Jay Rosen (PressThink)

A shift in political culture away from journalism’s grasp.

I just finished reading Jay Rosen’s fantastic piece on his reactions to the 2016 Presidential election which he wrote just before the election itself. It has a stunning take on what was going on before the election and indicates to a great extent why things have gone so drastically wrong. For those who are heavily concerned with what has happened, it also directly indicates a large part of what was missed and therefore provides the base problem so that we might all do a better job of protecting against it in the near future.

In part, he discusses the concept of fact checking and why Trump didn’t appear to care if anyone was fact checking his statements. Personally, the blatant lies that he was telling on a regular basis were even more disconcerting to me than some of this less than civil behavior. Rosen goes into some reasonable depth on this particular issue and its recent history which is very illuminating. Sadly it doesn’t make me any more happy about our present situation.

Yesterday I read something by a philosopher, Jason Stanley, that illuminated what I mean by “a miss bigger than a missed story.” Beyond Lying: Donald Trump’s Authoritarian Reality. Stanley made the point that fact checking Trump in a way missed the point. Trump was not trying to make reference to reality in what he said to win votes. He was trying to substitute “his” reality for the one depicted in news reports.

“On a certain level, the media lacked the vocabulary to describe what was happening,” Stanley writes. And I agree with that. He compares what Trump did to totalitarian propaganda, which does not attempt to depict the world but rather substitutes for it a ruthlessly coherent counter-narrative that is untroubled by any contradiction between itself and people’s experience.

I find large portions of the Trump narrative similar to the story of “The emperor with no clothes.” Reality may be what you can manage to get others to believe, but in a reasonable democracy truth must manage to win out. While I think that it’s almost certainly the case that a small minority of the populace really wanted to vote for Trump, how did he manage to capture the remainder? The “I won’t vote for Hilary segment” certainly gave him an additional fraction of the vote. Then people who were traditional Republicans who couldn’t bring themselves to vote Democrat added another piece of the pie. (Sadly, some of those who repudiated him during the end of the campaign seem to be falling right back in line for their piece of patronage.) Many are simply hurting and want to believe anyone who will give them someone to blame for it and a possible glimmer of a solution. Sadly, I expect these last people to be hurt the most at the end of the day when they realize too late that the emperor is naked.

But other than outright lying, how did Trump connect with some of the electorate? I’ve written before on Trump’s use of doubletalk, which I still feel is a significant factor in his capturing a large part of the populace. See also: Complexity isn’t a Vice: 10 Word Answers and Doubletalk in Election 2016 for this argument. Rosen’s discussion of facts is, to me, the other major missing piece.

I also wonder if it’s possibly the case that in an ever sub-specializing world that people have somehow lost the time, effort, or even inclination to attempt to put all of the facts together themselves to create a cohesive whole? Instead they rely on others to manufacture these stories on their behalf and thereby make it easier for such totalitarian propaganda to insert itself.

Perhaps the working men and women of the country aren’t spending time reading the paper anymore? It’s certainly easier to read third and fourth party stories on Twitter, Facebook, or listen to infotainment in the later hours on Fox News, MSNBC, or CNN. Why try to follow more direct sources when we can read Facebook and worry about who’s going to win this season of The Voice or The Bachelor?

As the workforce of the world continues to subspecialize, we’re going to need to be able to trust our political leaders more and more, not less and less.

[Totalitarian propaganda]’s open distortion of reality is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness.

The question is: how can we exploit the weaknesses to make the problem apparent to those who are too easily willing to believe?

What’s unusual about Trump is he’s a leading candidate and he seems to have no interest in getting important things factually correct.

It’s one thing to lie for political advantage. It’s another to keep lying to prove you have the power.

I’m hoping that some of the electorate realizes that things aren’t improving for them any time soon before too much significant damage has been done. Just because you believe a thing doesn’t make it true or even a fact.

I’d highlighted the concept before, but perhaps it’s a good time to remind people again:

No, It’s Not Your Opinion. You’re Just Wrong. | Houston Press

Before you crouch behind your Shield of Opinion you need to ask yourself two questions: 1. Is this actually an opinion? 2. If it is an opinion how informed is it and why do I hold it?

A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Title: A Bear Called Paddington
Series: Paddington Bear
Author: Michael Bond
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: July 22, 2014; Original release in 1958
Format: e-book
Pages: 176
Source: Overdrive

Paddington Bear had traveled all the way from darkest Peru when the Browns first met him in Paddington Station. Since then, their lives have never been quite the same . . . for ordinary things become extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved. First published in 1958, A Bear Called Paddington is the first novel by Michael Bond, chronicling the adventures of this lovable bear. Paddington has charmed readers for generations with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures. This brand-new edition of the classic novel contains the original text by Michael Bond and illustrations by Peggy Fortnum.

Amazon

The beginning of the book felt like an uphill battle to read. Perhaps it was too much set up and not enough character? The character shines through more brightly later on in the stories toward the end. The opening was also a lot more initial set up and seemed to be a beginning of a larger plot which didn’t turn into anything while the final chapters were more or less stand-alone vignettes with their own internal mini three act structures. I think I preferred these smaller self-standing stories to the beginning. In form and structure, the book was more like a collection of short stories about Paddington than it was a novel with its own three act structure, which is what I had expected. As a result of this, I’m surprised that Paddington was made into a movie instead of a television show.

Paddington gets himself into the same types of trouble a typical 3-6 year old would in not understanding the culture, mores, and standards around him. In this sense the book falls into a category similar to Amelia Bedelia, who perennially doesn’t understand colloquialisms and other homophones. The difference is that, because he’s a cuddlier small bear, he’s cuter and thereby one is prone to be more forgiving than they would be of a child or of a grown woman who’s so dense that she apparently doesn’t have any linguistic intelligence at all.

Because Paddington is a bear and not a young child, the family also allows him to do things by himself that no sane parent would allow a young child to do: go to the market by themselves, wander around in a crowded theater unattended, float out into the ocean without a keen eye being kept on them. It’s this slight change which allows our young bear to get into far more trouble than a human youngster might.

Toward the end, I began to read using rapid serial visual presentation (with Spritz), and the language and quirks came through just as well as any other parts of the book. I did find myself picking up my Kindle Paperwhite to highlight a few choice passages and funny parts for later reflection though. There was a nice prologue with some interesting observations by the author several decades after he wrote the original. With a bit of thought, some of these make great advice for budding authors.

In sum, an entertaining an charming book whose self-contained chapters lend themselves well to bedtime stories.

Reading Progress

05/27/16 marked as: want to read; “I’d watched the recent film version during the late Spring and thought I’d circle back around and read this again to see how closely the film followed the story. I haven’t read it since I was a child in maybe 3rd or 4th grade.”
09/06/16 started reading
09/08/16 ??.0% done;
10/01/16 18.0% done;
10/02/16 22.0% done;
10/26/16 33.0% done; “The plot moves somewhat slowly and the action is mostly what one would expect from a 5 or 6 year old–except that it’s a bear–but the charming language and the way in which is told makes all the difference. Bacon in a suitcase–indeed!”
10/28/16 47.0% done;
10/30/16 70.0% done;
“Chapter 5: Paddington and the “Old Master”
The pledge and the turn are reasonably well executed, but the prestige is lacking a bit.
Chapter 6: A Visit to the Theater
It’s episodes like this that make me wonder why they turned Paddington into a movie instead of a TV sitcom.”
10/31/16 Finished book;
“Chapter Seven: Adventure at the Seaside
The set up for this was short and sweet and the ending was what we’ve come to love in a Paddington story.
Chapter Eight: A Disappearing Trick
This is just hilariously charming. I do wish the uncivil neighbor had been better set up in a prior story, but the short treatment done here is sufficient for the hilarity that ensues with Paddington attempting a magic show.”

Highlights, Quotes, & Marginalia

Chapter One: Please Look After This Bear

It said simply, PLEASE LOOK AFTER THIS BEAR. THANK YOU.

Highlight (yellow) on page 4 | Location 53-53 | Added on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 10:45:06 PM

“You can’t just sit in Paddington Station waiting for something to happen.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 4 | Location 51-51 | Added on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 10:45:15 PM

“How’s that to be going on with?”

Highlight (yellow) on page 6 | Location 91-92 | Added on Thursday, September 8, 2016 12:44:27 AM

“Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear.”

Highlight (blue) on page 9 | Location 127-127 | Added on Thursday, September 8, 2016 12:48:39 AM

Chapter Two: A Bear in Hot Water

“That’s the trouble with being small—no one ever expects you to want things.”

Highlight (blue) on page 13 | Location 194-194 | Added on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 7:48:41 PM

– Your Bookmark on page 16 | Location 231 | Added on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 10:43:26 PM

if the water didn’t get much less, at least it didn’t get any more.

Highlight (yellow) on page 18 | Location 265-265 | Added on Saturday, October 1, 2016 7:35:31 PM

“If Mrs. Bird sees this, I don’t know what she’ll say.”
“I do,” exclaimed Jonathan. “She says it to me sometimes.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 19 | Location 290-291 | Added on Sunday, October 2, 2016 3:49:58 PM

– Your Bookmark on page 19 | Location 288 | Added on Sunday, October 2, 2016 3:50:49 PM

– Your Bookmark on page 25 | Location 369 | Added on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 8:14:38 PM

Chapter Three: Paddington Goes Underground

The man sniffed suspiciously and called across to an inspector. “There’s a young bear ’ere, smelling of bacon. Says he made a mistake at the bottom.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 26 | Location 387-388 | Added on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 11:33:23 PM

Chapter Four: A Shopping Expedition

Modom

Highlight (orange) on page 31 | Location 465-465 | Added on Friday, October 28, 2016 1:35:17 AM

Don’t see this word often in America, much less the Anglicization Madam or Madame

“I’ll have one for worst if you like,” he said. “That’s my best one!”

Highlight (yellow) on page 31 | Location 468-469 | Added on Friday, October 28, 2016 1:36:00 AM

Paddington trying to keep his old hat.

Paddington had a very persistent stare when he cared to use it. It was a very powerful stare. One which his Aunt Lucy had taught him and which he kept for special occasions.

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Bears were rather unpredictable. You never quite knew what they were thinking, and this one in particular seemed to have a mind of his own.

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– Your Bookmark on page 33 | Location 491 | Added on Friday, October 28, 2016 1:41:19 AM

– Your Bookmark on page 34 | Location 517 | Added on Friday, October 28, 2016 7:58:30 PM

“I think,” said Paddington, “if you don’t mind, I’d rather use the stairs.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 41 | Location 616-617 | Added on Saturday, October 29, 2016 2:23:45 PM

– Your Bookmark on page 41 | Location 618 | Added on Saturday, October 29, 2016 2:24:05 PM

Chapter Five: Paddington and the “Old Master”

“That bear gets more for his ten pence than anyone I know,” said Mrs. Bird. “I don’t know how he gets away with it, really I don’t. It must be the mean streak in him.”
“I’m not mean,” said Paddington indignantly. “I’m just careful, that’s all.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 41 | Location 627-629 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:01:06 AM

“I don’t mind him just thinking,” said Mrs. Brown, with a worried expression on her face. “It’s when he actually thinks of something that the trouble starts.”

Highlight (blue) on page 45 | Location 679-680 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:05:41 AM

Originally it had been a painting of a lake, with a blue sky and several sailing boats dotted around. Now it looked like a storm at sea. All the boats had gone, the sky was a funny shade of gray, and half the lake had disappeared.

Highlight (yellow) on page 45 | Location 690-692 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:07:18 AM

Only Mrs. Bird had her suspicions when she found Paddington’s “spots” on his towel in the bathroom, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

Highlight (yellow) on page 48 | Location 722-723 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:09:32 AM

“I think,” said Paddington to the world in general, “they might have stood it the right way up. It’s not every day a bear wins first prize in a painting competition!”

Highlight (yellow) on page 50 | Location 752-753 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:12:52 AM

Chapter Six: A Visit to the Theater

But it’ll be an experience for him, and he does like experiences so.

Highlight (yellow) on page 50 | Location 767-767 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:14:52 AM

Commissionaire

Highlight (orange) on page 51 | Location 772-772 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:15:18 AM

Judy started to help him off with it.
“Mind my marmalade sandwich!” cried Paddington as she placed it on the ledge in front of him. But it was too late. He looked round guiltily.
“Crikey!” said Jonathan. “It’s fallen on someone’s head!” He looked over the edge of the box. “It’s that man with the bald head. He looks jolly cross.”
“Oh, Paddington!” Mrs. Brown looked despairingly at him. “Do you have to bring marmalade sandwiches to the theater?”

Highlight (yellow) on page 52 | Location 792-797 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 9:18:24 AM

– Your Bookmark on page 60 | Location 916 | Added on Sunday, October 30, 2016 10:05:45 AM

Chapter Seven: Adventure at the Seaside

Paddington gave him a hard stare. “You said there was a bird,” he said. “And there wasn’t.”
“I expect it flew away when it saw your face,” said the man nastily. “Now, where’s my pound?” Paddington looked at him even harder for a moment. “Perhaps the bird took it when it flew away,” he said.

Highlight (yellow) on page 63 | Location 957-960 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:05:15 PM

The man looked serious. “And you say he can’t swim?” he asked.
“He doesn’t even like having a bath much,” said Judy. “So I’m sure he can’t swim.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 66 | Location 1011-1013 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:07:54 PM

The man looked at the picture. “We could send out a description,” he said dubiously. “But it’s a job to see what he looks like by that. It’s all hat and dark glasses.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 67 | Location 1015-1016 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:08:11 PM

This is hilarious thinking that people aren’t going to notice a small bear with such a costume amongst people.

“What’s going on at the pier, chum?”
Without stopping, the man looked back over his shoulder and shouted, “Chap just crossed the Atlantic all by ’isself on a raft. ’Undreds of days without food or water so they say!” He hurried on.
The lifesaving man looked disappointed. “Another of these publicity stunts,” he said. “We get ’em every year.”
Mr. Brown looked thoughtful. “I wonder,” he said, looking in the direction of the pier.
“It would be just like him,” said Mrs. Bird. “It’s the sort of thing that would happen to Paddington.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 68 | Location 1033-1038 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:12:23 PM

Chapter Eight: A Disappearing Trick

Paddington thought this was a good idea, especially when he was told that bears had two birthdays every year—one in the summer and one in the winter.
“Just like the Queen,” said Mrs. Bird. “So you ought to consider yourself very important.”

Highlight (yellow) on page 70 | Location 1072-1074 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:19:14 PM

“I shall have a lot of ‘thank-you’ letters to write.”
“Perhaps you’d better leave them until tomorrow,” said Mrs. Brown hastily. Whenever Paddington wrote any letters, he generally managed to get more ink on himself than on the paper, and he was looking so unusually smart, having had a bath the night before, that it seemed a pity to spoil it.

Highlight (yellow) on page 71 | Location 1082-1085 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:21:26 PM

“Well,” said Mr. Brown, “so long as you don’t try sawing anyone in half this evening, I don’t mind.”
“I was only joking,” he added hurriedly as Paddington turned an inquiring gaze on him.
Nevertheless, as soon as lunch was over, Mr. Brown hurried down the garden and locked up his tools. With Paddington there was no sense in taking chances.

Highlight (yellow) on page 73 | Location 1118-1121 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:26:30 PM

Mr. Curry had a reputation in the neighborhood for meanness and for poking his nose into other people’s business. He was also very bad tempered and was always complaining about the least little thing which met with his disapproval. In the past that had often included Paddington, which was why the Browns had not invited him to the party.

Highlight (yellow) on page 74 | Location 1127-1129 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:27:18 PM

“For this trick,” he said, “I shall require an egg.”
“Oh, dear,” said Mrs. Bird as she hurried out to the kitchen, “I know something dreadful is going to happen.”

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“For my next trick,” said Paddington, “I would like a watch.”
“Are you sure?” asked Mrs. Brown anxiously. “Wouldn’t anything else do?”
Paddington consulted his instruction book. “It says a watch,” he said firmly.
Mr. Brown hurriedly pulled his sleeve down over his left wrist. Unfortunately, Mr. Curry, who was in an unusually good mood after his free tea, stood up and offered his. Paddington took it gratefully and placed it on the table. “This is a jolly good trick,” he said, reaching down into his box and pulling out a small hammer.

Highlight (yellow) on page 76 | Location 1165-1169 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:33:51 PM

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself, telling lies in front of a young bear!”

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“You know, Henry,” said Mrs. Brown as they watched Paddington go up the stairs to bed, looking rather sticky and more than a little sleepy, “it’s nice having a bear about the house.”

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Postscript (by Michael Bond)

I realized I had a book on my hands. It hadn’t been written with any particular age group in mind, which was fortunate, because until then I had always written for adults, and if I had consciously aimed at a young audience I might have “written down,” which is a bad idea. Anyway, I agree with Gertrude Stein: a book is a book is a book, and it should be enjoyable on all levels.

Highlight (yellow) on page 80 | Location 1225-1227 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:36:38 PM

This is a brilliant bit of advice to writers of all stripes, but particularly children’s writers. Most of the best YA and children’s literature I’ve read didn’t pander down to their audience.

you never know quite what bears are thinking, and he was right. You feel you can trust them with your secrets and they won’t pass them on.

Highlight (yellow) on page 81 | Location 1229-1230 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:37:10 PM

This is an interesting insight into Paddington’s character and is somewhat similar to my comments above about what makes having a talking bear that seems somewhat common interesting in these stories rather than just a young child which would have made the stories very bland and unbelievable.

Another thing about bears is that one perceives them in the wild lumbering around on two legs, so they are already halfway to being human.

Highlight (yellow) on page 81 | Location 1230-1231 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:37:20 PM

Another bit which makes the stories slightly more plausible psychologically.

The first book in a series is always the most fun to write. The world is your oyster, and you can go wherever your fancy takes you. However, at the same time you build in certain parameters which are there for all time.

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Again great advice for writers, particularly those writing a multi-part series.

Paddington was, and always will be, very real to me. He has his feet firmly on the ground, and he has a very strong sense of right and wrong. So much so that when I come up against a problem in my own life, I often ask myself what he would do.

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WWPD?!

Each time I boarded a plane I knew it wouldn’t be long before he would be asked up to the flight deck. On one occasion I left him up there, strapped into a spare bucket seat while the crew explained the controls. A little later on, I received a second message asking if I would mind him staying up there because he wanted to practice landing the plane. I didn’t tell the other passengers!

Highlight (yellow) on page 82 | Location 1250-1253 | Added on Monday, October 31, 2016 11:41:38 PM

Guide to highlight colors

Yellow–general highlights and highlights which don’t fit under another category below
Orange–Vocabulary word; interesting and/or rare word
Green–Reference to read
Blue–Interesting Quote
Gray–Typography Problem
Red–Example to work through

Chris Aldrich is reading “I Had Ten Dollars / Greg Leppert – Reading.am”

Read I Had Ten Dollars / Greg Leppert - Reading.am (ihadtendollars.com)

Interview with Greg Leppert. Founder of Reading.am. Co-founder of Svpply. Reads a lot.