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a
Magazine
of
Understanding?
P
RINTED
on the cover of
every
Plain Truth
are
the words- a
magazine
of understanding.
Why? Why
do
we need un–
derstanding in this age of un–
precedented information?
Nearly 1,000 new books are pub–
lished every week in the U.S.A.
alone. Yet more new tilles are pub–
lished every year in French than in
any other language. More books
are translated every year into Ger- ·
man than in any other language.
The pressure to be informed is
awesome. No professional can even
begin to keep up with the onrush of
new knowledge in his particular
fiel d. Israelí writer A.B. Yehoshua
aptly describes the emotion: "The
feeling of being swept along and of
uncertainty as regards the future
prevents you from seeing things in
any perspective whatsoever ... "
(Unease in Zion,
edited by Ehud
ben Ezer).
Understandlng and lnfo rmatlon
Not Synonymous
World happenings will not Jet us
alone. Unpalatable events shout at
us from every corner of the world.
Sanity demands that we get a han–
die on world events. We must im–
pose a clear perspective on this on–
rush of information.
May 1986
by
John Ross Schroeder
American writer Saul Bellow
has won the Pulitzer prize for lit–
erature ( 1976). I n one of his
books, he wrote somewhat face–
tiously: " I nformation is to be
found in the daily papers. We are
"The images we see on
our televisions reflect
only the symptoms and
consequences of a
problem. . .. When we
see world events .. .
described by
commentators, that
does not lead to
understanding, but only
to casual knowledge. "
ing the Falklands War. Subse–
quently he wrote a book caBed
The
Po/itics of Consent.
It
betrays a
clear insight into the information/
understanding conundrum. Mr.
Franela Pym-Former BriUsh Forelgn Secretary
and author
TN Polltlc•
of Consent.
informed about everything. We
know nothing." There is wisdom
in these words. Hyperbole makes
a point.
Saul Bellow's tell ing point others
have also perceived. Francis Pym
was British Foreign Secretary dur-
Pym writes: "The instant availabil–
ity of news also conceals the subtle
difference between factual knowl–
edge and understanding, which we
confuse at our peri l. ... The phys–
ical facts are never enough."
(Continued on page 24)
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