Why is it that when something becomes democratic people get up set by the lack of quality that seems to pervade the general arena. Okay, maybe I am being a little vague here. But, I am referring directly to the blogosphere. People are concerned about the quality of blogs. Andrew Keen talks about this in his book, "Cult of the Amateur". That "the monkeys are taking over".
For me this is part of what makes this country and this time in history so unique. The voices of the random person can be broadcast.
Will anyone listen?
Not always.
Is this a problem?
I don't think so.
It is after all true that we are all different. We all have different skills. And most certainly not all of us can write or express our views clearly and concisely.
This is a big problem in America and needs to be addressed in our school system. Yet, one has to realize that there will always be a level of drivel in our society. Not everyone is an "intellectual" or a "thinker" or a "debater". This is okay, it is part of what makes society so interesting. How do you deal with this issue? How do you deal with people that would prefer not to engage issues in a thoughtful way but would rather eat cheetos and watch football?
You see, this is the crux of the problem that academics, teachers, professors and all sorts try to figure out. There are really only two groups in our society that have managed to truly capitalize on this. The advertisers and the politicians.
The do it so well. Is it a dummying down? Is society not participating in this?
If society decides it does not want to participate in this type of process it need only rebel and demand something different. It is this fine point - the point of change, or as my favorite professor at Berkeley said "room to maneuver".
How to create this room is for me the big question. I have no answer yet. But, I continue to dig around looking for how you capture peoples attention and allow them to rebel against a system the willingly participate in and help to defend and reinforce.
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