How to gently bring someone back to reality.

I just had a LONG talk with my brother-in-law who lives in Wisconsin. I was helping him out with a computer problem and talk turned to current events and then out of the blue he started asking me questions about what's going on in the world. Then he wanted to know how come he's never heard of all of these things I was referencing (i.e. PNAC, DSM). He wasn't challenging me, just expressing amazement that this was all so foreign to him. This was the first time EVER that my b-i-l (a hard working guy who doesn't pay attention to much else than supporting his family) seemed to be interested in hearing my opinions and expressing a great interest in learning more.


So... I'd really like to get some recommendations on what (articles, videos, etc) I can send him to gently start opening his eyes. I think most of us forget that we are so much more informed than the majority of Americans and I think we probably scare off some people when we start talking about the totality of how screwed up the world is right now.


I think I'd like to direct him to Moyer's "Buying the War", and maybe "Hijacking Catastrophe"..... suggestions everybody?

On edit: Looking through all my videos, I think I'll send him "The Ground Truth" and "Iraq for Sale" also. I have so many that I want to send him the ones that really grab ya.

....he's a self-employed mechanic and my s-i-l runs a daycare....and they have 2 teenagers. I think he'd be more likely to sit at the computer and watch a short video, or read some concise articles. Hopefully, he'll be interested enough to then start looking for answers on his own. I just want to pique his interest... know what I mean?

informing.

MKJ

So I think I'll stay away from from that issue, and as much as I love F9/11, so much lying has gone on about the film that I think I'd like to focus on documentaries "without baggage".

Gee, I'm not very grateful, am I...LOL

Someone needs to put together a little presentation package we can ship out to the newly awakened.

MKJ

I've tried to watch that movie twice and I've fallen asleep both times...lol. Guess I should try watching it right after I get up in the morning.

MKJ

For all I know it could be a great movie. I've just never stayed awake through it....LOL I do appreciate your responses though.

case here appears to be the start of kindergarten in an excellent and well-funded school.

Links to the UK Guardian and Helen Thomas's columns are always nice. And if he really does wonder why he never heard of any of this stuff, suggest he check out the daily findings of the folks at Media Matters.

With your newly-awakening brother-in-law, I'd say go gently with him. Sometimes the veil falls painfully from the eyes. Because there may also be a bit of remorse on his part. I'm in a crappy mood tonight, but if it were me, I'd still go easy on this guy.

Thanks for posting this. I needed it. It helps to remember that souls really CAN be saved. My best friend, who fell down the rabbit hole into the Dark Side, and defended bush until fairly recently, is now all excited about Obama.

It's almost like trying to educate someone from another country. I think from some of his comments that he has been exposed to brief snippets of FOX propaganda because he would say things like "Iran is behind the bombings in Iraq" and that muslims are trying to force everybody to convert. It was strange, but it wasn't like he necessarily believed those things, it was more like just repeating something he had heard. There was no emotional attachment behind the statements. He was also totally responsive to me calling bullshit and I told him why it was bullshit. He was really interested in PNAC, war profiteering and the lead up to the Iraq war. I never expected to have this type of chat with him because usually all he wants to talk about is how much he hates our mother-in-law...LOL

It's perfect for this job.

I love Hartmann and I've been meaning to get that one for myself. Thanks.

That should set him straight.

Gotta find some stuff about McCain too. He asked me what I thought about him and I said, "He's a whackbasket", but I think I'd like to back that up with some articles..haha.

That should get him interested. Also send him links to KO's special comments on U Tube.

I'm sure its remote that he's in the Air America listening area around Madison, but you never know.

Ed Schultz is more moderate than some of the others and the local AA station carries him- I know people can pick up the signal up to 50 miles away from Madison. He is on air 11am-2pm. Schultz does a lot of good interviews with Senators on air, including Wisconsin's Senator Feingold.

Helps put current events into much clearer perspective.


Manufacturing Consent, by your avatar, is another good one. :)

Well, he might be willing to try if there were sports or girls in swimsuits. He doesn't strike me as a big reading type. And I agree that Zinn's "People's History" is wonderful... but I'm interested in educating him about what's going on NOW.

Well, the American Spectator is a good centrist-to-liberal magazine focused on current events, and it's less hippy-dippy than Mother Jones...

If that's still to cerebral, all I can think of is Keith Olbermann or maybe the Mike Malloy show (but one must be ready for Malloy! :) )

I'm just more focused on getting him info about things happening right now. I bet if I asked him he'd say he hasn't read a book since high school. That always amazes me. I read every single day. In fact, I can't sleep without reading first, but I've been a reader since I was itty bitty.


And you're absolutely right about Malloy... he never holds anything back. It's a trait which makes us love him, but it's shocking to people who aren't used to any media blasting the Bush admin.

good prescription.

you might try "The Big Book of Tom Tomorrow" or the latest Doonesbury collection. Al Franken's "Lying Liars" is a fun read too. Check the video forum here, you might find some good short videos.

I'm listening to the "Lying Liars" b-o-t on my Zen these days. Almost through.

I found that extinctly unfunny, and I am sure it would be even more so now - given his praise of Lieberman.

I've got the Rush one, the Lying Liars one, and the Truth with Jokes.

Is he selling them? In 2004 the DNC was selling autographed copies for $50, but I missed that one. I got Joe Conason's book though. Al could raise money for his Senate campaign that way.

I'm listening to it on my Zen. In fact, all my Franken books are audio.

I don't know how the brain works any better than anyone else, but I've found that the active process of reading provides better long-term retention and understanding than the passive modes (radio and television).

Anyone that I had the chance to educate has beeen a long term process. They were either disinterested or exposed to constant RW media BS. It took exposure to people like Hartmann and long serious discussions to make any headway. If you don't have the chance to discuss issues with them regularly, expect a backslide. It takes a lot to keep mentally sharp and fight off the the BS that's in the media 24/7.

Good Luck and keep on fighting

That's why I was so surprised when he moved the conversation towards politics. I don't bring up politics around family, and really the only person in real life I can discuss politics with is my secretary. She's been with me forever, is a Buddhist, and even more liberal than I am.

Damn, drawing a blank here. Dealt with the lies leading up to the war. Was it a Frontline?

but the only ones coming to mind right now is the Moyer's one and the one about Cheney....I'll need to pull out my disks.

is "Why We Fight" - it goes back to the 1950s and sketches an overview of the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex.
It also has a couple scenes of man-in-the-street interviews about why we're in Iraq. He won't feel like he's so out of touch if he sees those scenes.

He could probably rent it at Blockbuster (I did.)

Oh, and maybe I can include "The Fog of War". That is just a fascinating documentary.

It's a couple of years old, but still a masterpiece:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I'm not trying to put my b-i-l down, but he's not book-smart. He's intelligent, but I don't think he'd put in the time to watch the whole series... at least not at first. If he continues to want more info I'll send him copies of that.

these oldies can be good infotainment.

www.comedycentral.com || 'Daily Show' || search for 'john oliver'

1) 'Arms and Iran' - 15 Feb 07
2) 'Nonverbal' - 31 Jan 07


http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=&ml_collection=24229&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=&ml_runtime=&ml_context=show&ml_origin_url=%2Fmotherload%2F%3Fml_collection%3D24229&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=true

Maybe you can suggest some others?

I think the Daily Show would be a fantastic recommendation, but unless he was somewhat informed Colbert might go right over his head. Not everybody gets Colbert.

a little more straightforward. Don't make him do too much work this early-on.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4973617448770513925

really boring in the first many minutes. Is there a legitimate snappier version around?

on edit: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879

Even my husband didn't get a lot of the references and I torture him on a regular basis about what's going on...haha.

Yes THAT Larry Flynt. The book is a bit old, (2004), but the truth is in here and may make a nice easy introduction for any male who is unaware of the goings on of our country and yet is familiar with this man's other pursuits. (Very few American guys have never heard the name Larry Flynt before). After I read this book Mr. Flynt became one of my personal hero's. (His movie is another must see as well).

Here is an introductory paragraph and a few reviews off the back cover:

"Sooner or later, any notable person with an unseemly past and a friend who owns a camera, can expect their dirty pictures to turn up on my desk. In the summer of 2003, I was approached by a couple of soldiers from the 507 Maintenance Company who wanted to sell me pictures of Jessica Lynch, poster girl for the war in Iraq, bare breasted and in sexual situations. From the look of the images, they had been taken with a cheap camera in an army barracks. The soldiers said they had done their little photo shoot at Fort Bliss, (you couldn't make this stuff up), just before they shipped out to Iraq. I had a forensic photo expert examine the images to prove that the girl in the pictures was indeed Jessica, and that the photographs were indeed legitimate. Then I gave the boys the money they wanted and put the photos in a drawer. It cost me a bundle in lost circulation for Hustler, but I decided not to run them. My feeling was that if Private Lynch wanted to have a good time, more power to her. I'm all for healthy sex among America's fighting men and women. And I couldn't see exploiting the girl any further than she was already being exploited by the Bush administration, the people who were using her as a stage prop to sell their war in Iraq" -Larry Flynt


"Tough, funny, profane, sensible and full of terrific information. I am a feminist who thinks this is a man who has literally put his life into the First Amendment and gets it in a more profound way than many constitutional scholars" -Molly Ivins

"Larry Flynt is a fierce foe of hypocrisy and a political truth-teller" -Erica Jong

"Fasten your seat belts-this is the book that official Washington does not want you to read"- Cody Shearer

Flynt is the Tom paine of our time, skewering the pompous asses who dare to presume that they know what's best for us" Robert Sheer