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The Humanist
July/August 1997
Volume 57, Number 4 |
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Methods of Media
Manipulation
by Michael Parenti
The time is long past to alert ourselves to the
manipulation of truth ingrained in the daily production of our news
and commentary. Though people in the media may fault deadline
pressures, budget restraints, and other everyday problems, the
infusion of bias into reporting isn't so innocent.
Cover Story:
The Blues Artist as Cultural
Rebel
by Stephen T. Asma
A humanistic critique as well as Promethean defiance
of Christian faith lies beneath the surface in the genre of music
called the blues. As such, it reveals an important undercurrent of
African American dissatisfaction with the Christian doctrine of
forbearance toward oppressors.
The Ultimate Civil Liberty
by Barbara Dority
With the U.S. Supreme Court deciding two major
right-to-die cases, many individuals generally supportive of
physician-assisted suicide have begun to express reservations and
questions. It is time, therefore, to address these concerns head on
and provide answers.
Foreign Political
Interference...Vatican Style
by John M. Swomley
While Democrats and Republicans are taking heat over
reports of foreign government influence on American policy through
campaign contributions, the Vatican's covert political interference
here and abroad continues unabated and unchallenged.
Empowerment of the Poor:
Eliminating the Apartheid Practiced by Financial Institutions
by Muhammad Yunus
With more than 1.3 billion people worldwide earning
the equivalent of one American dollar or less per day, a
college-professor-turned-banker tells how he fought discrimination in
the loan industry and helped turn many of Bangladesh's poor into
self-supporting entrepreneurs.
Creative Controversy:
Barbie Talks Back
by Sean M. Fitzgerald
The vice-president of corporate communications for
Mattel, Inc., forthrightly responds to charges in The Humanist
that the toymaker exploits Third World labor in its production of
toys for First World children.
A Reply to Mattel
by Anton Foek
The journalist who traveled to Thailand to observe
firsthand the working conditions under which Mattel, Disney, and
other toys are made stands by his original report and puts the
sweatshop controversy into a larger perspective.
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