With special regard to the civil rights case, I think what LBJ did was wrong. Had dramatic manipulation been exposed before the vote, it would have been an interesting flip, to see how senators reacted once they had seen another side of things (if you could make them not be angry about having been manipulated). Even in this noble means, manipulation is wrong when voters, and even more importantly Senators cannot make informed choices. Having said that, I would hope that I would have done whatever it took to further the civil rights cause at that time. Go figure.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Manipulation
Manipulation is tricky, for obvious reasons. Deception is the one form of lying that I myself struggled the most with, thus manipulation sort of follows suit in the same regard. I struggle because manipulation, under most circumstances, is making something appear a way that it is in fact, not. Senators and civilians cannot make an informed choice when they have false beliefs about the object of their vote. Not telling the whole truth is ok with me a lot of the time, but this just crosses a different line with me.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
But if the dramatic manipulation had been exposed beforehand to the senators, they might have been so angry for being tricked that they would have voted against it out of spite. I undertand what you're talking aboutwhen you feel that what LBJ did was wrong, I don't really firmly believe what he did was right either, but I understand why he couldn't have told the senators until after the vote. Had he, they might have been furious for being made puppets, or they might have completely dismissed the entire demonstration saying "well it was just a silly play put on for entertainment" I know that sometimes after a charade is exposed to me, the more likely I am to dismiss it, and LBJ might have been afraid that would happen. LBJ didn't misinform the senators persay (at least that's the argument I would make if I were him) he just shone the information in a new light.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have been in class for discussion, but I think that at least before it went down, it seems Shannon and I were on the same (kind of) page. It's an interesting hypothetical question you pose. I would like to see what would have happened as well, but I don't know what my reaction would be. If there were a lot of Senators who changed their minds, should I be angry at LBJ for his tricky ways? Or should I be mad at the Senators for allowing him to influence them so much when the plain facts (which as a voter I would say they're responsible to uncover) led them to vote another way?
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. I'm pondering. I expect a lot from my representatives, but I also expect them to be fallible, which is a difficult line to toe. Anyway. Good luck on your senior seminar tomorrow, Shannon.