What do I think needs to be done?
Master CraftsMon - Aired Monday, November 28, 2005 at about 11pm CST
Okay, now we get to the meat of the program.
John F. Kennedy in a speech many years ago, said, "People ask, ‘Why?'. I ask, ‘Why Not?'" Kennedy came at each problem with undying optimism that government could solve all problems and thus the ‘Why Not?' question was a dismissive question. In other words, he was saying, "Of course we can solve all these problems with government."
I don't think he was right. I think the correct way to solve social problems is to first identify the problem, then ask, "Why not solve it?" Then ask, "How do you do that?" and finally "Did that work?" As I said, I want your help in solving social problems and I want you to contribute your time and money to do so. If we, you and I, fail, then we start back at the first question until we get something that works. Yet that formulation of the problem solving technique doesn't lend itself to a radio program format.
I would point out that some social problems cannot be solved. They must be handled as a chronic disease with no cure. There are other social problems where it is a bad idea to interfere. I say all this to tell you that the answer to the question "Why not solve it?" may at times come back, "Do nothing." You're just going to have to live with that.
Each week, I am going to propose an audacious project or two or many. Your reaction will probably be an outraged, "You can't do that." My response will be "Why not?", but not the dismissive "Why not?" of JFK, but a reasoned defense of the project, plus the possible pitfalls that I have foreseen. Then, your question should be, "How do you do that?". At that point I will outline my action plan. On this blog you will get to make comments and ask questions about these two steps.
Those people who make a good case against the idea or the means will be invited to submit an MP3 file as the first part of the debate. Then I will send them an MP3 file in rebuttal. They will in turn send me a rebuttal of my rebuttal. At this stage, I am thinking that the first step is 15 minutes, the second step is 10 minutes and the third is five minutes. Again, this is from the Lincoln-Douglas debate format where the total time allotted was subdivided into ½. 1/3 and 1/6 segments. Then you the readers will get a chance to ask questions of me and the person who has criticized the project. That's my thinking right now.
You might ask why I should air any of the debate on the radio. I mean, all the parts of the argument will be on the blog. I haven't got a good reason for that, except to say that for every person that reads the blog, there will be quite a few other people who just listen to the program and who might be moved to support the project with donations. At least that's how it looks to me at this point. In addition, the spoken word is different from the written word. We shall see. As I said, this is a master craftsman thing. I will try something and if it fails, W'GASA.
Okay, now we get to the meat of the program.
John F. Kennedy in a speech many years ago, said, "People ask, ‘Why?'. I ask, ‘Why Not?'" Kennedy came at each problem with undying optimism that government could solve all problems and thus the ‘Why Not?' question was a dismissive question. In other words, he was saying, "Of course we can solve all these problems with government."
I don't think he was right. I think the correct way to solve social problems is to first identify the problem, then ask, "Why not solve it?" Then ask, "How do you do that?" and finally "Did that work?" As I said, I want your help in solving social problems and I want you to contribute your time and money to do so. If we, you and I, fail, then we start back at the first question until we get something that works. Yet that formulation of the problem solving technique doesn't lend itself to a radio program format.
I would point out that some social problems cannot be solved. They must be handled as a chronic disease with no cure. There are other social problems where it is a bad idea to interfere. I say all this to tell you that the answer to the question "Why not solve it?" may at times come back, "Do nothing." You're just going to have to live with that.
Each week, I am going to propose an audacious project or two or many. Your reaction will probably be an outraged, "You can't do that." My response will be "Why not?", but not the dismissive "Why not?" of JFK, but a reasoned defense of the project, plus the possible pitfalls that I have foreseen. Then, your question should be, "How do you do that?". At that point I will outline my action plan. On this blog you will get to make comments and ask questions about these two steps.
Those people who make a good case against the idea or the means will be invited to submit an MP3 file as the first part of the debate. Then I will send them an MP3 file in rebuttal. They will in turn send me a rebuttal of my rebuttal. At this stage, I am thinking that the first step is 15 minutes, the second step is 10 minutes and the third is five minutes. Again, this is from the Lincoln-Douglas debate format where the total time allotted was subdivided into ½. 1/3 and 1/6 segments. Then you the readers will get a chance to ask questions of me and the person who has criticized the project. That's my thinking right now.
You might ask why I should air any of the debate on the radio. I mean, all the parts of the argument will be on the blog. I haven't got a good reason for that, except to say that for every person that reads the blog, there will be quite a few other people who just listen to the program and who might be moved to support the project with donations. At least that's how it looks to me at this point. In addition, the spoken word is different from the written word. We shall see. As I said, this is a master craftsman thing. I will try something and if it fails, W'GASA.
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