The Assault on Reason - a foreigner's questions
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:36 pm
Okay, I'm almost through with the book. It's an astoundingly easy read and very palatable, however, I have some questions that I'm too lazy to research / or would rather get a personal answer from some americans about.
First of all... a recurring theme is that TV is a one-way medium and that the receiver cannot communicate back to the sender, therefore cutting out much of public discourse and reasoning. All the while Gore keeps extolling how much better that wasin the time of the Founders, where according to him the printing press was the main medium instead, which supposedly made the exchange and forming of a public consensus through reasoned discourse easier.
This has me confused. Is, or was, it easier to get your opinions published in a big circulation of newspapers than it is on television? I know over here we have "open channels" where everyone can broadcast (though admittedly few watch), while it is somewhat harder to get an editorial published - "reader letters" are common, but very restricted in size, usually just short blurbs. Was it that during the Founder's time everyone could run a newspaper? I'm a bit at a loss here, I'm sure his opinion has virtue, I'm just trying to follow it.
Also... what, exactly, are the differences between Senate and House, despite the term durations? Both seem to be directly elected, and only Senate can confirm Justices, but what more is there?
Thanks,
First of all... a recurring theme is that TV is a one-way medium and that the receiver cannot communicate back to the sender, therefore cutting out much of public discourse and reasoning. All the while Gore keeps extolling how much better that wasin the time of the Founders, where according to him the printing press was the main medium instead, which supposedly made the exchange and forming of a public consensus through reasoned discourse easier.
This has me confused. Is, or was, it easier to get your opinions published in a big circulation of newspapers than it is on television? I know over here we have "open channels" where everyone can broadcast (though admittedly few watch), while it is somewhat harder to get an editorial published - "reader letters" are common, but very restricted in size, usually just short blurbs. Was it that during the Founder's time everyone could run a newspaper? I'm a bit at a loss here, I'm sure his opinion has virtue, I'm just trying to follow it.
Also... what, exactly, are the differences between Senate and House, despite the term durations? Both seem to be directly elected, and only Senate can confirm Justices, but what more is there?
Thanks,