Larry D. Lauer

Media revolutions brought us new and powerful communication tools. The digital revolution brought social media platforms…

These tools quickly became useful to target and gain the loyalty of underserved groups.

Therefore, political parties were able to win and maintain power with these tools by gerrymandering voting districts and passing laws to make it difficult for opponents to vote.

Even individual politicians were able to use Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, Alibaba, and other social media platforms, in their campaigns… as well as to maintain voter support when in office.

Social media tools also attract huge numbers of small-dollar donations… and inspire people to act… both for good and bad.

And they can even be used to attack opponents and critics… using fear of social, political, and even bodily harm.

The fact is that media revolutions have also given autocrats around the world the simple tools they need to gain and maintain control of entire countries.

Dictatorships often begin exactly this way.

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Democracy is lost too. Here is how it is happening in our country:

Washington became polarized… and dysfunctional for too many citizens.

A candidate for president happened upon some of these underserved people.

His constant rallies appealed to them, and they became his loyal “base” of supporters.

He surprised even himself and was elected president… gradually his party won many state elections.

These states then changed their voting districts to make it easier for their candidates to win elections.

They eventually passed laws to make it difficult for their opponents to vote.

They also passed laws so that if they lost an election, they would be able to claim fraud and change votes.

This is how the right to vote can be lost for too many… and along with it, our precious democracy.

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The politics of “no” begins with a political party that states no campaign platform. It only wants to stand in the way of most everything its’ opponent wants to do.

The U.S. is experiencing this currently with the Republican Party.

Social media are used to target and appeal to groups that are under-served.

Rewards are used to keep supporters loyal. Fear is used to keep them in line.

Defeating the politics of “no” requires the opposition and party defectors to call-out everything the party is doing… and how it is doing it.

And overall messaging must be changed to specifically to address the country’s most troubling problems.

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Here are just some of the issues..

1. Political pressures from trustees, parents, and others.
2. Student protests on a whole range of issues.
3. Dealing with extreme speakers and new attitudes about freedom of speech.
4. Staff no-shows in food preparation and building and grounds services.
5. Overall supply chain shortages.
6. Maintaining enrollment and making growth decisions.
7. Resolving on-line versus face-to-face teaching issues.
8. Pressures to change academic freedom and tenure policies.
9. Increasing general criticisms of “the administration.”
10. New academic curricular and advising challenges.
11. Changing health and mental services needs.
12. Addressing climate change controversies.
13. Dealing with the dramatic influences of social media.
14. “Critical race theory” and “cancel culture” pressures on the curriculum.
15. Responding to working from home requests.
16. Whether or not to add professional certification to academic degree programs.
17. What to do about mounting athletics issues and problems.

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