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Re: Meeting public demand
I agree that education is the long term answer. If successfully done,
it will affect public opinions in 10-20 years. Unfortunately, the
nuclear industry doesn't have the luxury of waiting that long. We have
to survive the next 10 years, or we won't be around to benefit from this
education.
To do that, we have to take public opinions as a given. We can and must
meet public demands for taking any radioactive material and any
radiation exposure very seriously. We must avoid screwups, if at all
possible, and accept responsibility for those that occur. In short, we
must meet standards of excellence that probably exceed those of any
other endeavor.
Bill
Ruth Sponsler wrote:
> You're definitely correct to keep this off-list, owing
> to it's 'Medusa-like' nature (chop one head off, two
> more grow in its place). :-)
>
> You have accurately described the classic propaganda
> technique, the 'Big Lie.' I don't like 'Big Lies'
> because 1) they pander to ignorance 2) they have been
> used to initiate and prop up dictatorships.
>
> How to immunize people against the 'Big Lie?' The
> solution to this lies in educating young people to
> think rationally, weigh evidence, and to question what
> people tell them i.e. evaluate it in comparison with
> other opinions out there in the "marketplace of
> ideas." The philosophers on whose beliefs many of the
> precepts of American society are based [Locke, Hume]
> believed that education for rational thought in a free
> society is very important.
>
> This educational process is a big part of teaching
> people to live in a free republic as opposed to a
> dictatorship, and it needs to start in grade school
> and continue through civics and into college.
>
> In this sense, somewhat ironically, the bumper sticker
> that says "Question Authority" is a good 'immunity,'
> even though it sometimes happens to be found next to a
> 'No Nukes' type sticker on a heavily plastered bumper.
> Perhaps "Question Authority" bumper stickers should
> go 'Solo' on bumpers. :-)
>
> Have a great weekend -
>
> ~Ruth S.
>
> --- Michael Stabin <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>
> wrote:
> > This is off-list, due to the political content,
> > which could launch non-rad
> > related threads that would never end.
> >
> > Bill Lipton writes:
> >
> > > My point, exactly. This is but one more example
> > to refute those who say
> > that,
> > > if only the "public" had the facts, they would
> > make the right decision
> >
> > No, I think they're refuting your point. As the
> > savvy politicians of today
> > know, the one who controls the flow of information
> > controls the debate,
> > regardless of the facts. Give the public some simple
> > relationships that they
> > can grasp, especially attached to an emotional
> > message, and then repeat them
> > often, and they will become accepted fact, even if
> > they conflict completely
> > with plain evidence that others offer. Witness the
> > effectiveness of the
> > Willie Horton ads against Michael Dukakis, Bill
> > Clinton's running down of
> > the economy through Nov 92 (when economic recovery
> > began in April),
> > Democrat's tagging of any tax cut as favoring the
> > rich, Republican tagging
> > of any Democratic initiative as tax-and-spend, and
> > antinuke fairy tales
> > scaring Congress, the public and the news media over
> > 10 mrem doses. If the
> > public happened, by wild chance, to be given actual
> > accurate facts by those
> > with the electronic megaphones, our public policy
> > choices in a number of
> > areas might actually be based on reason and logic,
> > but it ain't happenin.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> >
> > Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
> > Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological
> > Sciences
> > Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
> > Vanderbilt University
> > 1161 21st Avenue South
> > Nashville, TN 37232-2675
> > Phone (615) 343-0068
> > Fax (615) 322-3764
> > e-mail michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu
> >
> >
> >
>
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