Network Schools – Wayne Gerseny to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/03/magazine/thomas-piketty-interview u w B l.html?h I’ll smid=url-share the Is for

Yesterday I read a NYTimes editorial on the so called Green New Deal that I found troubling because it reinforced the idea that we cannot accomplish anything big in this country. Here’s the comment I wrote, which, I believe, can be understood without reading the article itself:

One reason that Ms Pelosi and scores of voters are unable to enumerate the contents of the Green New Deal is that the media use their limited space to chastise progressive and inexperienced legislators like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez for their errors in framing the debate over climate change instead of emphasizing the actual contents of the Green New Deal.

This editorial, for example, uses 150 words to elaborate on the “poorly written talking points” developed by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s staff and 72 words to describe “the actual resolution” which “seems more measured”…. and the details on the ACTUAL resolution appear AFTER the details on the gaffes by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’ staff. The Times and most media outlets have not provided readers and voters with a concise explanation of the elements of a Green New Deal. Instead, coverage has focussed on the wholly predictable political dynamics and the “impossibility” of accomplishing the ambitious goals in the plan.

I am old enough to remember when a President put forth a plan to put a man on the moon within a decade— a goal that seemed technologically daunting at the time. Thankfully, the press didn’t waste ink space telling readers about the political implications or the “impossibility” of such a task.