A sound bite nation
I finally sat down to watch the debates last night with Jessica. I didn't know what to expect, but I was hoping for something insightful and personal. Instead what I received from both candidates were soundbites. Of course this bothered me.
I miss intelligent discourse. I miss people acknowledging points and agreeing to disagree on others. I can't blame the candidates in this situation. I watched the debates in 2004 with Kerry and he talked about complicated issues, pointed out that they weren't simple and the answer isn't always black and white yes and no and he explained the why. The soundbite that was played over and over was that he was a "flip flopper". Bush on the other hand rarely deviated from his sound bites and always focused on coming back TO the sound bites. Guess who was elected.
So we fast forward to 2008, and we have two candidates that don't answer the question unless the question is in the soundbite. The game is, "How can I stick to my soundbite under the guise of answering a question?"
I'm angry. I can't blame the candidates because the person who strays from the soundbite the most will be the loser. Why? because their response will be taken out of context and mutilated in the media, conservative OR liberal and even neutral elements.
I'm also angry that misinformation was being delivered at the "debate" (it wasn't a debate). I commented to Jessica that I wish there were fact checkers at these things so that accurate information could be delivered.
I worry about the state of our democracy when misinformation is allowed to flourish and goes unchallenged and when we can no longer have real debates because of the abuse candidates will receive from the media. Soundbites sell better than news, and in a capitalist society, it's all about what sells.
The debates Friday night were indeed canceled. The mediator showed up, the building was filled, the candidates were present, and yet no debate took place worthy of note. Debate has been on the decline in this country and now I believe that debate may very well be on the verge of death.
I miss intelligent discourse. I miss people acknowledging points and agreeing to disagree on others. I can't blame the candidates in this situation. I watched the debates in 2004 with Kerry and he talked about complicated issues, pointed out that they weren't simple and the answer isn't always black and white yes and no and he explained the why. The soundbite that was played over and over was that he was a "flip flopper". Bush on the other hand rarely deviated from his sound bites and always focused on coming back TO the sound bites. Guess who was elected.
So we fast forward to 2008, and we have two candidates that don't answer the question unless the question is in the soundbite. The game is, "How can I stick to my soundbite under the guise of answering a question?"
I'm angry. I can't blame the candidates because the person who strays from the soundbite the most will be the loser. Why? because their response will be taken out of context and mutilated in the media, conservative OR liberal and even neutral elements.
I'm also angry that misinformation was being delivered at the "debate" (it wasn't a debate). I commented to Jessica that I wish there were fact checkers at these things so that accurate information could be delivered.
I worry about the state of our democracy when misinformation is allowed to flourish and goes unchallenged and when we can no longer have real debates because of the abuse candidates will receive from the media. Soundbites sell better than news, and in a capitalist society, it's all about what sells.
The debates Friday night were indeed canceled. The mediator showed up, the building was filled, the candidates were present, and yet no debate took place worthy of note. Debate has been on the decline in this country and now I believe that debate may very well be on the verge of death.