Elections can be seen as a measure of our ignorance level, our ability to think, and our gullibility to marketing. Whatever the case, there are people studiously analyzing the results of the election. They, like their counterparts in commercial advertising, are trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. We are all guinea pigs for these marketing researchers and they are honing their skills and are making improvement for the next time.

The PBS show Frontline had an interesting episode, called The Persuaders, that deals with what I'm talking about. Click here to check out the web page for this show. In brief, people are using scientific methodology to try to determine how we make decisions and how they can influence our decision making process. We should all hope that the eventual holders of such knowledge will use their talents for benevolent purpose or that the attainment of this knowledge will never be reached. Such knowledge in the wrong hands could make Yellow Peril and Nazi propaganda look amateurish and make science fiction stories, portraying totalitarian states ruling over the ignorant masses, more true than ever.

Throughout human history there are many examples where people were lead to do bad things. Even in supposedly freethinking countries as our own, we have had times when wrongs had been done. Many of these wrongs could not have taken place without support from the masses. If you've been a regular reader of our editorials and articles, you will note the many wrongs that I have brought to your attention regarding the treatment of Asian and other minorities in America. If the art of persuasion can be transformed into a science and knowing the nature of man, what is there to prevent even worse atrocity from taking place?

The world and the people on it are seldom black and white - there are many shades of gray. So it is impossible to determine the nature of the people behind the curtain. I am certain that these researchers do not all think alike and do not all have evil intent. There are no conspiracies or joint efforts to deceive us, only a concerted effort to determine how we think and how they can influence are thinking.

So how do we combat such forces? Should we be resisting? Perhaps we could live in ignorant bliss and leave the decision-making up to our rulers… Wait, didn't I just write in my last editorial against such thinking?

Since we can never really know everything, the war on ignorance can never completely be won, but it can be lost. Many of history's dark ages were cases of when societies slipped back into states of ignorant subjugation. The best that we can do is maintain a constant vigil - keeping ignorance at bay. We do this by never relinquishing our thirst for knowledge and by making our educational institutions better. Armed with our knowledge, we must also learn to use it wisely and compassionately for all the inhabitants of the Earth. Only then will we be on the winning side of this war.

"Oh, Man" look here. Look, look, down here!" exclaimed the Ghost.

They were a boy and girl. Yellow, meager, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate too in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shriveled hand, like that of age, had pinched and twisted them into shreds.

Where angels might have been enthroned, devils lurked and glared out, menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be party to lies of such enormous magnitude.

"Spirit! are they yours?" was all that Scrooge could utter.

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!" cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse! And abide the end!"

Each year, legions of ad people, copywriters, market researchers, pollsters, consultants, and even linguists—most of whom work for one of six giant companies—spend billions of dollars and millions of man-hours trying to determine how to persuade consumers what to buy, whom to trust, and what to think. Increasingly, these techniques are migrating to the high-stakes arena of politics, shaping policy and influencing how Americans choose their leaders.

In "The Persuaders," FRONTLINE explores how the cultures of marketing and advertising have come to influence not only what Americans buy, but also how they view themselves and the world around them. The 90-minute documentary draws on a range of experts and observers of the advertising/marketing world, to examine how, in the words of one on-camera commentator, "the principal of democracy yields to the practice of demography," as highly customized messages are delivered to a smaller segment of the market.

Take the 2004 presidential sweepstakes for example. Both the Republicans and the Democrats were prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to custom craft their messages. "What politicians do is tailor their message to each demographic group," says Peter Swire, professor of law at Ohio State University and an expert on Internet policy. "That means…Americans will live in different virtual universes. What's wrong with living in different universes? You never confront the other side. You don't have to deal with the uncomfortable facts that go against your worldview….It hardens the partisanship that's been such a feature of recent American politics."

The following books are discounted for subscribers to our newsletter. The discounts on these books end December 31, 2004.

Origami Holiday Decorations
For Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

Origami Holiday Decorations features 25 original projects including a Holiday Calendar, a Jewish Star, and a Santa Claus complete with Reindeer created by origami expert Florence Temko.

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ORDER -- Item #3260, Price $8.95

Summer of the Big Bachi

A spellbinding mystery played out from war-torn Japan to the rich tidewaters of L.A.'s multicultural landscape, this stunning debut novel weaves a powerful tale of family, loyalty, and the price of both survival and forgiveness.

"A novel about social change wrapped inside a mystery, Summer of the Big Bachi toggles deftly between past and present and reveals the hopes and compromises that lurk on the fringes of the American Dream."
–Denise Hamilton, Edgar award nominated author of Last Lullaby

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ORDER -- Item #3257, Price $12.00

Guji Guji

Guji Guji is just your ordinary, everyday, run-of-the-mill duck…um, crocodile…um, duck…

In this engaging story about identity, loyalty, and what it really means to be a family, Guji Guji makes some pretty big decisions about who he is, what he is, and what it all means, anyway.

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ORDER -- Item #3259, Price $15.95

When Strange Gods Call

Twelve years ago, Miki Ai'Lee walked away from her traditional Chinese heritage, leaving her native Hawai'i behind. Now thirty and unmarried, Miki is a respected art history professor on the mainland. But when her grandmother's illness draws her back to Hawai'i, Miki realizes she has been gone too long. Her first love, Alex, bears scars that he is unwilling to explain, and her grandmother is ready to share their family's darkest secret, if only Miki will listen.

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ORDER -- Item #3256, Price $14.00

Being Japanese American
A JA Sourcebook for Nikkei, Hapa...& Their Friends

Gil Asakawa's celebration of what makes JAs so special is an entertaining blend of facts and features, of recipes, songs, and memories that every JA will want to share with friends and family.

Being Japanese American looks at where JAs came from, their cultural and spiritual roots, how they've adapted their customs to their new home, and the importance of food and language in their identity.

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ORDER -- Item #3258, Price $14.95