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Excerpts from Paul Simon's Our Culture of Pandering On Pandering in Politics, the Media, Religion, and Education
What SIMON SAYS about Pandering in POLITICS
“We
all like to please people. Politicians are not exempt from that trait;
when we seek public office or run for reelection, we want to win and
usually believe that it is important for the future of a city, county,
state, or nation that we succeed. The desire to win has always been part
of our political scene, but two things have turned a temptation for
candidates into a threat to our free system: First, polls can tell us on a
daily basis—hourly, if you want—what people are thinking. In a zeal to
win, political leaders too often use these polls to embrace the whims of
public opinion rather than stand firmly for the public interests. Second,
campaign contributions now play a huge role in who gets elected. In the
process of securing that funding, candidates and, more seriously,
officeholders find the time that they should devote to complex issues
being devoured by begging for dollars. Equally troubling, those who have
the big money have learned that a flow of money to the right candidates
pays off handsomely. No stock market purchase will ordinarily reward the
investor like this type of investment does. Too often, the winning
candidates are those who pander to the polls and to the big campaign
contributors. . . . The harsh reality is that we have slipped into
electing leaders who will not lead, officeholders who are zealous to
maintain themselves in power, sometimes at the expense of the national
interest.” (p 2–4) “[T]he public should demand that candidates speak frankly and truthfully about issues of concern, and it must understand that once a person is elected and looks at the facts in much greater detail, changes in attitude do and should occur. . . . Perhaps more than anything else, the public must educate itself, not just about politics and political candidates but about local, national, and international issues; people must become involved. This is something most of us have not done.” (p 5)
What SIMON SAYS about Pandering in the MEDIA
“It
is not difficult to find editorials rightfully criticizing officeholders
for actions that are popular but ill-advised. However, editorials are rare
indeed that criticize the media for following practices that are popular
but do not serve the nation well. ‘We are giving the public what it
wants’ is the pious but lame defense by media executives of such
actions. That defense has the same hollow ring to it that irresponsible
political leaders use: ‘I’m representing my people and doing what they
want.’ Pandering in the media is primarily focused on two interrelated
objects: first, higher ratings or greater circulation, getting as large an
audience as possible; and second, making as much money as possible. . . .
[W]hen the rating wars on television cause the news to be warped by the
entertainment factor, the nation loses.” (p 60) “At
a time when the United States is singular in its huge ability to influence
the world, our people are less and less interested in matters beyond our
borders, and our leaders reflect that. The media does far too little to
break that irresponsible habit of indifference. Pandering to our popular
and current tastes helps short-term profits and hurts the nation—and in
the long run hurts the media.” (p 81) “Fewer
and fewer people are determining what is in our news and more and more of
those decisions are made by people who are looking for quick profits
rather than those who are steeped in the traditions of reporting news.
Long-term, quality news coverage pays off. But to business executives who
want to look better in each quarterly report, the simpler way is to reduce
staff and to pander to whatever will satisfy the hunger of a large
audience.” (p 98)
What SIMON SAYS about Pandering in RELIGION
“Perhaps
the greater sin by faith leaders has been—and is—an unwillingness to
do the unpopular, a tendency to comfort and pander to those who attend
religious functions regularly, but not to disturb them by building bridges
to other faiths and helping the most miserable in our society and our
world in concrete ways.” (p 100) “We somehow think we are ‘being religious’ when we add the words ‘under God’ to the pledge of allegiance, or get into a dispute in trying to post the Ten Commandments at a local school, but the real test of faith is not what we mouth but what we do.” (p 110) “To be a pastor or rabbi or imam for a congregation with a thousand members provides greater status (and usually a better salary) than being the spiritual leader for one hundred fifty members. Sometimes those numbers are important, but they should not be a substitute for quality of service. Leaders should not pander to the whims of the people to build up numbers if that comfort is a substitute for applying faith to life. . . . It is easy for religious leaders of any persuasion to avoid disturbing things. The culture in which we live can smother the possibility of asking ourselves penetrating questions. The religious routine—or perhaps more accurately, the irreligious routine—lets the pastor or priest or rabbi or imam pander to the members of his or her flock who live in comfort, ignoring the needs of those whom their faith suggests we should aid.” (p 116–118) “Once
we see our common humanity, it is hard to look at people as enemies,
whether they are from another nation, another race, or another religion.
If violence in the world is to diminish, we must understand that basic
lesson. Exchanges in the field of religion will not occur unless someone
plans, someone leads. This may take a little courage. It demands more than
silence.” (p 126)
What SIMON SAYS about Pandering in EDUCATION
“The security and economic well-being of the nation are being weakened by all of us—administrators, teachers, parents, and citizens—living too comfortably with superficial pleasantries. The education and legislative leaders who should awaken us to realities generally aren’t doing it. Our deficiencies are compounded when knowledgeable people who understand the improvements we need are so mesmerized by day-to-day duties that long-range demands get ignored, and the inattention is frequently further compounded by lack of courage.” (p 138)
“The question for leaders today is more than ‘Can Johnny read?’ A more basic question: Can our students compete with the rest of the world? Our best students can, but far too many are not being adequately prepared. As with any other improvement, a better educational system will come only with sacrifice and hard work, for school administrators, teachers, parents, and students. But what is more important, convenience and longer vacations, or better education? It's easier to drift, easier to pander, than to alter our path.” (p 148)
“The excessive use and abuse of academic jargon within the higher education community is an example of pandering internally, producing articles in isolated fields that meet the ‘publish or perish’ criteria but are read by few and contribute as close to nothing as you can get. It is not only the time wasted in writing these almost unreadable articles for tenure, salary, and prestige purposes, this pandering also takes academicians—and inevitably their students—away from the real world.” (p 163)
Read an extended biography of Paul Simon Return to the book description of Our Culture of Pandering
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