Consider the effects of the new "million-channel media universe." 
Talk radio, cable television and the Internet (YouTube and the blogosphere) offer so many contradictory "facts," "truths" and "informed opinions" that people everywhere can essentially select and interpret facts in a way that accords with their own personal, idiosyncratic and often flat-wrong versions of reality. In this modern “infosphere,” knowledge no longer rests on objective facts but instead on “true enough” facts and arguments (Stephen Colbert’s “truthiness”). A truth pocked with holes but one that is “true enough” will nonetheless hold sway over those who choose to believe it for reasons political, religious or otherwise because it feels right. Think of the claims that the U.S. government carried out the 9/11 attacks, Republicans rigged the 2004 election and HIV does not cause AIDS. With so many competing news outlets and opinions, we can now seek out and find the kind of political views, no matter how absurd, that please us; news that tells us what we want to hear, that indulges our political preconceptions and belief systems and that is told by people who think exactly the same way we do. The result is an increase in extremist views based on irrational beliefs and sometimes utterly insane and delusional thinking. Randall L. Schweller | National Interest
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home