Milestone Mondays: Would Martin Luther King, Jr. Use Social Media? & What Advice Would He Give to Barack Obama?

Thought for the day:  I was going to start a new series today, Manic Mondays, Tips To Reduce Stress as you start a new week. However, given the double milestone events today, I decided to start something slightly different. When there is a milestone event happening, I will post a Milestone Monday post. Today's Milestome Mondays' post is Would Martin Luther King, Jr. Use Social Media? & What Advice Would He Give to Barack Obama? Next week I will start the Manic Mondays series.
          After completing this post, I saw this post on Maya Angelou's Facebook page: "On this day of celebrations, I believe Martin Luther King Jr. would have said to President Barack Obama, "Continue. Be loving and be strong. Be fierce and be kind. And don't give in and don't give up.'" I decided to add her comment today.

          Today is a double milestone. As we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. we also celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama to a second term. Last year, I paid tribute to MLK's "I Have a Dream," speech. His dream has inspired myriads of dreams for people of all races, religions, & cultures. I took a look at the famous speech again. He spoke to all humanity when he said,
              "When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village & every hamlet, from    every state & every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men & white men, Jews & Gentiles, Protestants & Catholics, will be able to join hands & sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
       Much has changed in our country & in the world since that memorable speech.  The civil rights movement in the 60's had a strong influence on me. Growing up in Texas, I remember volunteering with a predecessor of Head Start in a black neighborhood. I taught kids ballet & tutored them in the three R's. My father was a lawyer & an activist who represented clients from all races & religions. I believe Pete Seager visited our home, although I was too young to remember the visit. When I rode on a bus from Texas to New York not long after desegregation, I was surprised to see that even though the signs were taken down, people were still segregated in the bus depots.
       Until four years ago, it was just a dream that an African-American would become president of the United States. Regardless of your political viewpoint, this was a victory for the American dream & for democracy. There are still battles to be fought to reach the "freedom for all" that MLK spoke of, but we are moving in the right direction & the doors he helped open have led to many other opportunities for people from all minorities. The importance of educational equality is paramount to enhancing creativity which will lead to finding new solutions for the problems that confront all human beings in our complex modern world.
         This year after four years of president Obama's administration, the political gridlock threatens to stymy the dreams of our elected official & those of the majority that elected him. Even as a nation is reeling from a financial crisis, a devastating hurricane & the tragedies of the madness of warfare in our schools & public places, there are people opposing the leadership we desperately need in Washington. On Friday, I recommended an article entitled "Would Ghandi Use Social Media?" Today On this Milestone Monday, I ask would Martin Luther King, Jr. use social media? He was a powerful orator who could stir people into action. I believe that he would have used whatever means he could to empower people to make change happen. Barack Obama has used social media to help activate voters to show up at the polls. He uses twitter & I hope his program to build support for better gun control will activate those who want to change the gun control laws as well.
           MLK's strength came from his strong religious beliefs. He urged us to see the discrimination in our society & do something to change it. Today an article by Janell Ross, MLK Support For Economic Justice Overshadowed By 'I Have A Dream' Speech, discusses his fight against poverty. The levels of poverty have risen above those that MLK, Jr. was protesting just before he was assassinated. Hopefully, our President will find ways to open the minds of those who oppose him to end the gridlock & start overcoming the major issues that threaten our nation. The trick in the use of social media, however, is not just to raise awareness, but to get people activated & involved in the difficult conversations with open minds that will lead to creative nonpartisan problem solving. It is too easy to just read articles using social media & click to the next article, game or facebook page. If you are impacted by something on social media sites, don't just like it. Share it with your friends. Post it, g+ it, tweet it. Your action will help make things go viral. You can sign a petition online in just a few seconds. You can also take conventional action & go to a public meeting to discuss it or attend a march. If you want change, you must take action.
             Are you ready to join the conversations & take action online & elsewhere? Make this a Milestone Monday & take action to let your senators & congressmen know that you want an end to the gridlock in Washington.

Sex, Lies & Political Gridlock - Is Negative Campaigning Endangering Democracy

Thought for the Day: I usually try to avoid sex & politics in my blog, facebook & as a psychologist; however, given the increase in negative campaigning I wonder whether democracy is becoming an endangered species & felt compelled to write about it. Although you may feel compelled to write from a partisan perspective, please refrain from doing so. I have tried to address the problem as a non-partisan psychological commentary, I hope I will inspire you to question what is happening in political campaigning on both sides & to search for creative solutions to the problems addressed.

After an election campaign filled with negativity, I felt a need to encourage people to set aside their differences & join forces behind the government to start fixing the economic crisis that the nation is struggling to overcome. I posted the above photo (which I saw as an olive branch) on my facebook page & on 2 Bellaire High School Alumni groups that I frequent. On my page, people took the post in the way it was intended, liked & shared it 35 times.

On the Bellaire High pages the responses were strikingly different. Around 135 comments & "likes" followed. They have continued to appear daily on the two group pages. To my surprise, the photo & my original comment hoping for people to join together, triggered all kinds of partisan & derogatory comments. It brought up stories of conspiracy theories & mud slinging that I will not repeat. A few people tried to respond to these comments; however, the negative comments continued to come. I merely said that I was taught that regardless of which candidate wins, it is important to find ways to accept the results of the democratic process & find ways to compromise & work together.

Being a psychologist is a blessing but it can also be a curse. I'm not a political analyst, but find myself trying to apply psychological theories to understand the powerful reactions to the photo on facebook. I also began to wonder if the political gridlock in Washington & the divide occurring in our society could be somehow connected to the damaging psychological effects of political advertising.  To do this I did some research on advertising, although it is by no means comprehensive it reflects what experts in the field are saying about political ad campaigns. I encourage you to read some of the articles I reviewed to help understand this complex topic.

America's capitalistic economy relies heavily on advertising.  ($129 Billion on (TV, Print & Online advertizing) in 2011) On the presidential campaigns "this year, according to a fresh report to investors from Needham and Company’s industry analysts, television stations will reap as much as $5 billion—up from $2.8 billion in 2008."  That means that about 15% of the total advertising spenditures in the USA will have gone to TV ads for the presidential election. In 2010, TV ads for House, Senate & gubernatorial elections was $2,870,000. The 2012 spending on these races is expected to grow significantly. Certainly, the numbers alone in the midst of unemployment & recession are unsettling. One wonders how the advertising dollars might improve the economy or education.  However, the content & lack of accountability for it's psychological impact on our society is even more disturbing.

Is it wise to market political leaders as if they were products? It is common knowledge that "sex" & the image of popularity & success sell products. Our greatest presidents, prior to the age of television advertizing were not necessarily handsome or photogenic. Would Abraham Lincoln have been elected on his looks? If his marriage (or the marriages of other great presidents prior to the explosion of television) had been scrutinized would he have been elected? How would the camera or negative ads have treated FDR's physical disabilities? The camera was not kind to Eleanor Roosevelt, but she was one of the most eloquent & influential first ladies our nation has ever had.  In light of their leadership, America might have missed the opportunity to be led by many great leaders if they had been judged by their appearance & not their words & actions.

An even bigger concern for me is the blatant use of lies in political campaigns. With the myriad of ads on both sides & the lack of fact checking by the news media, it often takes months for the truth to come out about ads that influence the outcome of elections. In “Timeless Rules for Advertising and Marketing,” March 26, 2010, bighow.com, David Ogilvy, advertising icon, called political spots “the most deceptive, misleading, unfair and untruthful of all advertising.”  Robert Spero reports that Ogilvy believes “political advertising ought to be stopped. It’s the only really dishonest kind of advertising that’s left. It’s totally dishonest.” (Robert Spero, The Duping of the American Voter (New York: Lippincott & Crowell, 1980), 4.)

The worst type of political advertising is negative advertising (a form of advertising that is rarely used in commercial advertising). The goal of negative advertising is to put an opponent in a negative light. Negative ads, despite the fact that they are often false, have been found to be highly successful at raising doubts in voters minds about a candidate they may have been leaning towards supporting.  Therefore, it can be tremendously effective, even if it does not generate a single new voter for the candidate who placed the ad. If it pushes the undecided voter not to vote at all, it is seen as a victory for the creator of the ad. I believe, however, that all negative advertising is a defeat for the democratic process.

Psychologically, it is better for a candidate to be on the offensive, rather than on the defensive. So, there is an advantage to a politician to be the first to attack an opponent with a negative ad. Quick response is important as well. The cost of responding to a negative ad continues to increase the cost of political advertising. Therefore, the candidate with the most money has the advantage, regardless of whether the negative ad is true or bogus. As voters, do we want our elected officials to buy our votes by lying about their opponents? Do we want good candidates to lose elections due to false accusations that only see the light of day months after the election?

Posted on Facebook on the day of the election

Not only do negative ads influence the outcome of elections, according to Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols negative television advertising accentuates, "extends and enhances" the problem of citizen apathy. A study by Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar demonstrated that the "main consequence of negative ads is that it demobilizes citizens and turns them off from electoral politics, if not public and civic life altogether." The trend is toward “a political implosion of apathy and withdrawal.” (Stephen Ansolabehere and Shanto Iyengar, Going Negative (New York: The Free Press, 1995), 11–12.) Can democracy survive with apathetic citizens? Are we in danger of making people feel that their vote does not matter & that their leaders are not trustworthy? Is negative political advertising simply propaganda encouraging prejudice & dividing our society?

Many people assume that the news media will "fact check" the ads & inform the public about the "truth."  Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead, reporters tend to report on the negative controversial ads as sources for news stories. McChensey & Nichols report that one study found that only 1% of TV news campaign stories critique any political advertising. If a candidate wants air time on the news programs, they need to buy ads & make them controversial. Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols conclude that "television journalism has all but abandoned its duty to provide some sort of balance or corrective to political advertising... They are part of the problem, not the solution."

As far as I know, we know very little about the residual effects of being bombarded with negative ads. As a psychologist, this effect is of concern to me.  Are all Americans, Democrats & Republicans, having been exposed to negative & untruthful ads continuing to act as if the ads are true. Could this play a part in the gridlock we see in Washington? Does the conscious & unconscious residue from the powerful negative ads continue to encourage both sides to be polarized against one another? Has it led to increased apathy & distrust of our leaders on the part of voters & politicians alike? CNN reported from the Center for the Study of the American Electorate, that the 2012 voter turnout was 57.5% of all eligible voters, compared to 62.3% who voted in 2008 and 60.4% who cast ballots in 2004. Voter turnout was only slightly higher than in 2000, the turnout rate was 54.2%. An estimated 126 million people voted in the 2012 election. Ninety three million eligible citizens did not cast ballots. Although the depressed economy may also have led to lower voter turnout, is negative ad campaigning making it worse? For democracy to work, all citizens need to be involved, educated & believe in the process. As negative advertizing budgets have increased, gridlock, polarization of politics & apathy of many voters have also increased.

If the advertising community itself believes political advertising should be stopped, should we not at least demand more scrutiny of political ads accuracy & accountability? We have regulated advertising for products & have magazines to help consumers choose between products. However, there is no "Consumer Reports" magazine to help voters check the accuracy of political ads. I don't have the answers, but the questions are important ones for us to address regardless of our political leaning if we are to find a way to address this important issue.

As always, I would love to hear your opinions & ideas to find ways to increase respect, end the gridlock & find ways to make sure both the democratic process thrives & our great nation prospers.

Milestone Monday: Would MLK, Jr. Use Social Media & What Advice Would He Give to Barak Obama?

Thought for the day: "One good deed leads to another." Unknown
"One good dream leads to another." DrB

Today as we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., I want to pay tribute to his "I Have a Dream," speech. His dream has inspired myriads of dreams for people of all races, religions, & cultures. I took a look at the famous speech again. He spoke to all humanity when he said,
              "When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village & every hamlet, from    every state & every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men & white men, Jews & Gentiles, Protestants & Catholics, will be able to join hands & sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
       Much has changed in our country & in the world since that memorable speech.  The civil rights movement in the 60's had a strong influence on me. Growing up in Texas, I remember volunteering with a predecessor of Head Start in a black neighborhood. I taught kids ballet & tutored them in the three R's. My father was a lawyer & an activist who represented clients from all races & religions. I believe Pete Seager visited our home, although I was too young to remember the visit. When I rode on a bus from Texas to New York not long after desegregation, I was surprised to see that even though the signs were taken down, people were still segregated in the bus depots.
       Until four years ago, it was just a dream that an African-American would become president of the United States. Regardless of your political viewpoint, this is a victory for the American dream & for democracy. There are still battles to be fought to reach the "freedom for all" that MLK spoke of, but we are moving in the right direction & the doors he helped open have led to many other opportunities for people from all minorities. The importance of educational equality is paramount to enhancing creativity which will lead to finding new solutions for the problems that confront all human beings in our complex modern world.
       D.R.E.A.M. Inc., a non-profit organization based in NJ, is continuing the work towards Dr. King's dreams. Their name stands for Dispelling Realities & Empowering African-American Minds by teaching financial literacy. The founder of D.R.E.A.M., Inc., Orane Williams benefited from the doors opened to African-Americans at educational institutions. He was able to obtain a degree in Business Administration. However, even after completing his degree, he discovered he had never been taught financial literacy. He realized there was a void when it came to ‘financial literacy & understanding’ within the African-American community. He has dedicated his life to help fill that void. He founded D.R.E.A.M, Inc. & runs workshops around the country teaching financial literacy, college preparatory information, & post-college life information for urban youth from 13-25 years old.
       Orane & D.R.E.A.M., Inc. are included in & will benefit from my book. One good dream leads to another & another. How has Martin Luther King's Dream helped you in accomplishing your dreams?