Mainstream (and many social media) reports and explanation of events and issues tend to provide a one dimensional view of the world not least because they seem to parrot the same scripts. When aiming off these narratives, critics often resort to binary arguments which, at best, result in a two dimensional view and keep discussion within the tramlines of acceptable or “authorised” discourse. Given that much of the opposition is controlled by the same forces as the establishment, in effect the establishment is talking to itself relegating better informed, authentic opposition to being mere bystanders and onlookers.
The world is fluid, complex and multidimensional and everything is connected. Consequently, to get a handle on events and issues we need multiple perspectives.
I only get asked to contribute to TV programmes whose producers are prepared to entertain information and analysis that go beyond the usual binary discourse. This can be disconcerting for news anchors and interviewers who may be hearing such analysis for the first time.
I was on Press TV’s Spotlight programme on the British monarchy in September this year; my departure from the expected script left Kaveh Taghvai somewhat wrong footed because my first answer didn’t easily lead on to his next question.
Nonetheless, I was invited back on Spotlight last Saturday to discuss the resignation of Liz Truss and the disarray in UK politics.
Spotlight 22.10.2022-UKPoliticsCrisis (video 23 minutes 15 seconds)
British papers have called for election and mulled Johnsons return after resignation of PM Liz Truss. UKs Johnson was replaced with Liz Truss as PM who stepped down on Thursday.
Truss was under fire over host of issues including her controversial economic package. The UK is grappling with high inflation and slow economic growth. Ex-finance minister Sunak gains minimum support needed to formally enter race for the post of UKs prime minister.
In this edition, Spotlight interviews Clive Menzies, political economy researcher and analyst from London and Fra Hughes, journalist, author and activist from Belfast to look at UK political crisis, where the UK is heading to and whether it can come out of this political deadlock.
When posting the original Press TV link to Twitter, it appeared with the following warning:
To which I responded: The BBC is also state affiliated media. It is vital to look from multiple perspectives in order to make sense of the world, events and issues https://cocreativelearning.org/cocreative-learning/cocreative-learning-howto/sources/
If we limit our search for information to those voices we can agree with or only those that “authority” tells us are trustworthy, we remain trapped in our ignorance. Dialogue with those with whom we disagree is an essential part of learning to reach a common understanding of what is really going on.