From Stan Thompson:

Re: Dip in brainpower may follow drop in real power (May 10): A logical corollary of the theory that subordination causes a dip in brain power is the cumulative effect on a whole society of repeated media implication (through tone and selection of content) that viewers are victims—an extreme instance of subordination.

An unintended consequence of the deeply ingrained journalistic self image as advocates of the down-trodden, may be that the wit and will to avoid being down-trodden is cumulatively eroded.

If that dynamic exists, then the competent self-confidence that underpins self-government would also erode. People would cease to vote in elections and instead waive personal dignity by cooperating with commercial pollsters. Simplistic blame would replace dialog; protest movements would supplant engagement in pursuit of solutions; and a slow but inexorable downward spiral of participatory democracy would ensue as we may be observing today.

Stan Thompson
Mooresville, NC