Sunday, July 8, 2007

Passion (turn left)

"Senior BBC figures have acknowledged that the corporation could suffer from "groupthink" which tended towards a liberal world view and had led to certain opinions being under-represented on subjects such as Europe and immigration.

Stephen Whittle, a former controller of editorial policy, pointed to a "lack of intellectual curiosity", while former political editor Andrew Marr said there was "an innate liberal agenda".
The report, entitled From Seesaw to Wagon Wheel to reflect the move from a left-right axis to a variety of uneven and contrasting views, also warned that impartiality should not equate to political correctness or "insipid" programme-making. "Impartiality is a coat of many colours, not of a uniform beige. It must always have space for strong and passionate opinion," it said."

Insipidity and lack of passion. This is a disease afflicting many NGOs and civil society groups, including some I am involved with. The reason is a need to please (Western) donors by trying to appear liberal, open-minded, non-confrontational, in short, "moderate". However it is also due to the fragmentation in political opinions that exist within the same group, which is often brought together by campaining around a single issue. Such groups rarely initiate ideological debates and as aresult, only tend to agree over operational issues needed to operate the campaigns. This may result in successful activities, but I dont see it contributing to change.

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