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- nwlaborpress.org
Helen’s Place LLC Update: August 9, 2022
The government must address three key areas that are drastically affecting work and education in America and undermining the emotional fitness of the nation – disinformation, illegal immigration, and public school issues.
Disinformation:
The government must do more about disinformation and the spread of dangerous lies and hate that’s tearing our country apart. Fraudsters are exploiting people including children for their own personal gain.
It’s not lost on many Americans, that just as Alex Jones on August 5, 2022 was fined over $ 49 million dollars for spreading the lie that the Sandy Hook massacre of children was a hoax, people at the CPAC in Dallas were spreading conspiracy theories on a range of issues.
Alex Jones and his show Infowars, Fox, many podcasts, radio shows, social media sites and radical organizations continue spewing hate speech protected by the first amendment.
The most troubling aspect of this is that millions of Americans are addicted to propaganda, and continue to watch, listen and buy products advertised on these shows.
What’s causing millions of Americans to go down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole following cultlike leaders?
For starters we have grievance politics undermining our society, and beliefs around someone getting something they don’t deserve.
The root causes of these beliefs must be addressed head on by consistently replacing false information with correct information in speeches and public service announcements, in a point and counterpoint format laying out the facts.
Ignoring false information just allows it to be perpetuated unchecked.
The warning messages should be clear – don’t believe everything you see or hear because it could be misinformation – “trust but verify” as Ronald Reagan said in 1987.
The federal government can do better putting out clearer messaging in paid service announcements on a variety of channels, not just government friendly ones. False information is dangerous and can lead to violence.
Secondly, the administration should continue to deliver on the promises made in 2020 to the American people, to promote and fund infrastructure and environmental technology leading to more jobs and factories in the U.S.
This is especially important to rural areas hard hit when factories closed in the 1980’s and American jobs were shipped overseas to China and other cheaper markets.
When people see the government working to give them a slice of the pie, they’ll be less likely to believe false claims against it.
Illegal Immigration:
Illegal immigration is an unresolved, festering wound and must be addressed by the government head-on, because not having a clear policy about what to do about it is not working and at its peril.
In Texas, for example, Governor Greg Abbott told America that U.S. border states like Texas are bearing the brunt of the illegal immigration problem, and started bussing non-immigrants to other states.
It appears that border patrol is not processing any of the apprehended non-immigrants, just loading them up on buses and sending them off to the East Coast.
This U.S. border crisis, presents a great opportunity for the Biden Administration to speak directly to the American people and tell them what the Federal Government is going to do to address the problem, which includes the eleven million non-immigrants that already live in the U.S.
If it’s true that there are shortages of American workers, and we need to utilize the non-immigrant workforce to fill the gaps, now’s the time to address the nation and present the case.
To end the stalemate and move this country forward, the government must accept that half the U.S. population doesn’t support a pathway to citizenship for illegal non-immigrants.
Other solutions to the problem must be implemented based on existing immigration laws. immigration reform legislation is unlikely to pass in today’s America until the conflict around illegal immigration is under control.
Public School Issues:
In addition to healthcare workers, teachers – especially women, have borne the brunt of the misinformation and culture war in America.
In addition to low pay, in comparison to other occupations, teachers have had to deal with increases of bad behavior from people, including children acting out.
As a result of these issues, teachers are quitting in record numbers. The immediate solution is to pay teachers more, and address the disinformation, illegal immigration, and other issues putting teachers under so much stress and causing them to quit.
More than ever, America needs public education to teach children independent thinking skills to fight off misinformation for their well-being and safety.
Our public education curriculum must teach children to decipher misinformation to tell fact from fiction, so they’ll be less likely to get snookered by con artists like Alex Jones, and others targeting kids to take their money and influence their behavior.
We can’t afford to lose a single teacher capable of helping children become more emotionally fit people.
Summary:
In the years ahead, if our government doesn’t make good on its promises, address the nation’s festering wounds, and prevent the wealthiest Americans from benefitting at the expense of the lower and middle class, we can expect the American people to rise up, and choose differently in the next election. Our way of life and democracy is at stake.
Helen’s Place LLC will continue reporting on, and proposing solutions to the problems affecting the nation’s emotional fitness.
The question now is, will the government act to address and solve America’s grievances, or will more elected officials get thrown out in 2024? The clock is ticking.
Related audio/video interview recording:
One of America’s leading historians discusses what’s threatening America the most.
YouTube, MSNBC, Michael Beschloss, January 2, 2022, “We Must Protect Democracy in 2022, or lose it forever”
Other related article you may be interested in:
Psychology Today, Joe Pierre, M.D. November 3, 2021, “Conspiracy Theories Aren’t Delusions”
Helen’s Place LLC, “What’s Threatening Women in the Workforce The Most”
Your comments are greatly appreciated. Send them to Helen’s Place LLC via email to info@helensplacenet.com. We’re always interested in learning more about you and the issues that are important to you.
