Al Gore recently had some things to say about democracy in America. The speech is well-worth reading. He's not right about everything, but it is rare to find myself agreeing with Mr. Gore as often as in his latest speech.
Turn off the TV. Any further commentary on my part diminishes the fine points he makes.
4 comments:
He certainly makes many valid points,I am pointedly struck by the contrast between his articulation and that of our current political "leader",a graphic illistration of the "dumbing down" effect.Gore says "Our Founders used words with astonishing precision", obviously not the case now,although words used now are perhaps precise in a more diabolical sense.
In my opinion though, it is once again an example of a well meaning liberal and his belief in Enlightenment values missing the huge contradiction between "the free marketplace of ideas" and the free flow of ideas.Glorifying the Market, he misses the relationships between commodification,discourse and power which Habermas and others (leftists) went on to explain and while it may be objectified as "gobbledygook",and this is crucial,the effort must be made to see the relationships and then ACT (praxis)on your knowledge. Gore doesnt use the word totalitarianism but the laziness of intellect he describes is the door through which the colonization of the mind enters.
You have perhaps noticed refences to Debord and Marcuse in my writing and they are admittedly dense(as were most of these post-modern types)but I am trying to summarize and spread it to the degree I can understand it because it is brilliant analysis on just this topic. Adbusters magazine is a popular adjunct to much of what Debord says in "The Society of the Spectacle"
He certainly makes many valid points,I am pointedly struck by the contrast between his articulation and that of our current political "leader",a graphic illistration of the "dumbing down" effect.Gore says "Our Founders used words with astonishing precision", obviously not the case now,although words used now are perhaps precise in a more diabolical sense.
In my opinion though, it is once again an example of a well meaning liberal and his belief in Enlightenment values missing the huge contradiction between "the free marketplace of ideas" and the free flow of ideas.Glorifying the Market, he misses the relationships between commodification,discourse and power which Habermas and others (leftists) went on to explain and while it may be objectified as "gobbledygook",and this is crucial,the effort must be made to see the relationships and then ACT (praxis)on your knowledge. Gore doesnt use the word totalitarianism but the laziness of intellect he describes is the door through which the colonization of the mind enters.
You have perhaps noticed refences to Debord and Marcuse in my writing and they are admittedly dense(as were most of these post-modern types)but I am trying to summarize and spread it to the degree I can understand it because it is brilliant analysis on just this topic. Adbusters magazine is a popular adjunct to much of what Debord says in "The Society of the Spectacle"
After I am finished with this semester and finally have some time for some heavy leisure reading, you will have to recommend to me a few books.
I think Gore got a lot right, but his little TV network isn't going to change a thing. The fact is, capitalism regulates us to be nothing more than buyers and sellers of commodities, leaving true information out in the cold. After all, who cares about global warming--as an example--when Jen and Brad can't get along.
I guess I've got a whole lot of nothing, but then again, I'm a little pessimist who is just waiting for the end.
I think he may have some valid points concerning an expanded media and a rejuvinated democracy but it may have to be the next generation that learns they dont have to buy something just because the ad told them to.And yes, brother, keep on reading.
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