The United States of America exemplifies a consumer-based society in nearly every way: readers dictated that Dan Brown sold millions of copies of his novels, television viewers make it easy for Fox to constantly trot out American Idol in their prime time lineup and Axe body spray succeeds because 17 year old guys believe it will get them laid. Politics does not differ from free market solutions, which is why the Anthony Weiner "scandal" should worry us.
Although I do not wish to downplay his deeds, sending dong shots via Twitter is not exactly on par with anything Woodward & Bernstein reported, despite the implications of adultery committed by a United States Congressman. No, what alarms me MUCH more is the insatiable appetite of both the public to constantly hear about it and the news media to devote endless amounts of airtime to it. Furthermore, it should disturb us even FURTHER that after the shelf life of the story expired everybody moved on to the next inane thing. Bluntly stated, how can we devote so much time to the dirty personal life of one Representative when Congress is a month away from defaulting on already the largest debt ever accumulated in human history, unemployment remains well above full employment (9.1% vs. 5.5%, traditionally) and our Federal government borrows forty cents for every dollar it spends, often lent to us by foreign entities who cause of the most headaches?
The New Information Age has created an interesting dichotomy: while technology opened many avenues of specificity never before experienced (topic specific chat rooms, 24 hour news) it simultaneously consolidated many aspects of cultures into amorphous catches that blur the lines between competing objectives (reporting vs. blogging, advertising vs. reference material). We have given ourselves media-hungry appetites to devour the scandal de jour, only to abandon it in favor of a new one a few days later. I credit this to a cycle that includes a daily bombardment at all hours and in all forms: email forwards, TMZ, Twitter celebs (Twelebs), lunchtime talking head radio personalities etc. I imagine the old water cooler anecdote, only it happens constantly, just a mouse click, finger switch or button push away.
Our political dynamic has seen the best and worst of both of those things. Any search of a Congressional or state assembly website reveals legislation, often in real time, as the measure gets debated, amended and discussed. Voters can view live feeds from the legislative floor or hearings conducted outside of Washington or their respective state capitol. However, many "traditional" news outlets have reorganized themselves as televised tabloids, seizing on stories like Weinergate (trust me, I hate using this term as much as you do reading it) to generate viewership in an increasingly competitive business. No longer news, not quite entertainment - news entertainment.
How can we combat the devolution of the American political news machine? What responsibility does the news media have when stories like Anthony Weiner cock pics appear above the fold of the newspaper and reports of United States solider deaths in Afghanistan get relegated to section C? Should the consumer resist the temptation to follow the trashy exploits of a failed sitcom actor and demand more thorough coverage of meetings between the White House and Congress on passing a Federal Spending bill? We are all to blame, but as with all other products offered in America, the responsibility lies with the consumer to ensure they receive the best possible result. Sadly, asking such a thing may be too hefty of a task.
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