Could we communicate better?

Are we dong it all wrong?

Sometimes I wonder about all the things that we do as activists and think that we've done stuff to “be busy,” “to be doing something” but we're more spinning our wheels on ice .

I'll be out and be given this 2 sided sheet of paper with tons of written information that I don't do anything with because I don't have time to read the information on it.

What if the information could be rendered better on one side with a graphic and the other side with key information that I could quickly scan and act upon?

Don't get me wrong – I love a good read and will sit down with a good book or magazine article and mow down on it for however long is needed.

At a protest or an action – who has time for that?

So, how to boil down and do?

Enter the “Dubunking handbook” located at http://sks.to/debunk

Hopefully.

It's a “how to” of debunking the myths of the ruling class. And short at just 7 pages. And it includes an example of a good debunk sheet along with step by step of what to do, why, & how.

I love a good essay, but the average person on the street needs something a little different sometimes.

This is a good (free) resource on fighting back against a media system that looks to shut us out and off.

And then there are the books.

I like sitting down and reading a good long book but sometimes that isn't practical or even interesting to some people,

And then there are my students that sit around reading graphic novels. (BTW – When I was growing up we called them “comic books.” Not anymore. A multi volume collection of a series of comics that centers around a specific story line is now called a “graphic novel.” )

So when reading the May 2016 Monthly Review (backwards I might add. Last article first. Just to be different.) I read a review of the Worker's Guide to Health and Safety. A 576 page book that focuses on organizing in the work place around safety issues.

OK. 576 pages is a little bulky, but it covers workplace safety issues and is field tested to make sure that it is practical. I love reading Lenin & Trotsky, but sometimes I feel like I'm scratching my head wondering “What do I do with this?” (BTW: It usually comes to me much later than when I really needed it. We all get the “Oh – Now I get it” moments.)

It is written by workers in the field and field tested by them. It's a “what to do book” that is sorely needed today. Granted it's about health and safety issues, but could we adapt the ideas to other areas? Probably. At $35 a pop, it seems well worth the investment if it helps workers take the steps needed to make the workplace safer and hopefully lead to more worker agitation on other issues.

And it uses plenty of graphics to make its points rather than tons of text.

Information is only usable if it is accessible.

Sometimes I think we as socialists forget that.

After all, Thomas Nast wasn't feared for his essays.

And he did what to NYC politics?

Could we do more?

Note: A little lighter today. This heat warning and ozone is taking a toll on me.

And it's not even summer yet.

Anyone that says that global warming / climate change isn't real isn't outside and trying to breathe.