Sunday, January 24, 2021

Open reply to Susana Schuler

Dear Ms. Susana Schuler, President & General Manager, WVTM13:

This is in reply to your TV news editorial last Friday on WVTM13.

Your editorial
Your editorial started with your quoting Joe Biden's inaugural words:

We have much to do in this winter of peril, and significant possibilities. Much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain.

Your editorial then referred to Joe Biden beginning "in a time of incredible division and too much hate across our country."

You then said Joe Biden is not the first President to face division and pledge unity, and you quote the inaugural words of two other Presidents, Thomas Jefferson and George H.W. Bush.

You promised that WVTM13 would hold the new administration, and Alabama leaders, accountable for their promises.

You concluded your editorial by urging viewers to absorb the many memorable words they heard and pledge ourselves to be part of the solution. You particularly refer to the words of Amanda Gordon "to see the light, and be the light."

My reply
Just about everyone agrees about the need for more national unity to overcome the crises of health, the economy, race, and violence that the country faces. 

Many think that a huge impediment to increasing unity is that the two sides do not talk to each other, each side has its own set of facts, which is different from the other side's, and that greatly impairs the ability to have the unity that is gained from agreements and compromises and that impairs the government in legislating and taking action. 

(Note: I use the word "facts" but the foregoing applies to "characterizations" and "opinions," which either have some reasonableness, or which are grossly unreasonable and effectively not true. A lot depends on the words a speaker chooses, and how hearers of the words interpret and act on the words. The example that is discussed below will illustrate this.)

A contribution to unity that WVTM13 should make is to counter the foregoing phenomenon by forcing the two sides to appear jointly and test their willingness to say their facts when they know the other side is saying different facts, and, based on what viewers see and hear, viewers will decide whose facts they believe. In this situation, the two sides may back away from the facts they would prefer to say, and say facts that are not so contradictory to the other side's facts.

Take the example of whether the election was stolen from Trump. Many times Trump told his millions of supporters that the election was in the process of being stolen from him and was stolen from him.. 

"Stolen" is better viewed as a characterization (as opposed to a fact) and, as characterization, the world "stolen" is powerfully suggestive to a hearer that the hearer may think justifies certain actions in response. Trump's telling his millions of supporters about the election was being stolen likely contributed to the motivation of the perpetrators of the January 6th attack on the Capitol building as being justified to prevent the election from being stolen.

To build on this stolen election characterization, WVTM13 should press Rep. Gary Palmer and Rep. Terri Swell to look into the station's cameras and answer the questions of "do you think the election was stolen" and "do you think it was wrong for Trump to say the election was stolen." 

If Rep. Palmer tries to evade by saying "there were election irregularities that raised questions, yada yada yada," WVTM13 should answer back,

No Rep. Palmer, no evading the question. Trump used the word "stolen," it is reasonable to think the Jan 6th attackers were motivated by Trump's saying the election was stolen, Trump has been impeached by the House for inciting the January 6th insurrection, and you need to say whether it was acceptable for Trump to have said the election was stolen, or whether that was wrong and it is legitimate for Trump's words about the election being stolen to be taken into account by the Senators in the Senate trial.

If Rep. Palmer refuses to respond WVTM13 should lay out to its viewers what WVTM13 tried to do, and why, and that Rep. Palmer refused to respond. [Edit 3/15/22. Elsewhere I have referred to this as the "empty chair technique."] 

This example of the election being "stolen" illustrates how the two sides having, and saying, different facts (one side saying it was stolen, and other side saying not stolen) contributes to division that impairs the ability of government to do its job.

Very arguably, if Trump had not said that the election was stolen, the January 6th attack on the Capitol building would not have happened, there would not have been a second impeachment, there will not be more division in the country that the Senate trial of Trump is likely to engender, and the government would be more able to do its work for the American people in the coming weeks.

I hope WVTM13 agrees with the foregoing discussion and that it is suggestive to WVTM13 of things that WVTM13 might do to counter the problem of the two sides not talking to each other and the two sides having different sets of facts, and that might help in increasing unity, which the country so badly needs.

9/18/21 Obstructing the prevention of preventable deaths
Gov. Ivey, by opposing governmental vaccine mandates, has obstructed and continues to obstruct the prevention of preventable deaths and preventable hospitalizations in Alabama. https://al6thcongdist-ihaveuntiljan13.blogspot.com/2021/09/obstructing-prevention-of-preventable.html

You should do a WVTM-13 editorial at this time to help Alabamians "see the light" on this.

10/3/21
The above tweet is the last tweet in a thread soliciting WVTM-13 to help Alabamians "see the light" that, in opposing government vaccine mandates, Gov. Ivey has wrongfully obstructed the prevention of preventable deaths and preventable hospitalizations in Alabama. I don't know whether WVTM-13 has done anything in response to my aforesaid solicitation. Similar solicitations to other Alabama TV stations are appropriate, which I am endeavoring.
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