BEYOND BUSH SUCKS |
It's fun to hate George W. Bush. He sucks. But he's also transparent. He
is charisma, nothing more. Corporate power dictates his policies,
therefore it is corporate power that must be defeated rather than Bush,
who is simply the temporary human face for the imperialism, laissez faire
economics and war that Bush channels. There will always be another Bush who will
lie a blue streak to attain power.
Corporate Power and the Making of Public Opinion |
If there's one thing that has been made clear by the 2004 U.S. presidential election, it's that emotions and impressions count for more than facts and policies in American politics. Writers like Neil Postman remind us (in Amusing Ourselves to Death) that this was not always an acute problem in America. Persuasion through emotion rather than reason is the domain of propaganda. Concentrated ownership of the media has led to systematic distortions in the representation of events, politics, and social conditions. Sound bytes and shouting matches between "liberals" and "conservatives" have turned news and analysis into a predictable entertainment format. As lobbyists write legislation, the media sets the tone of public debate on issues. Politicians who stray too far from the lines drawn by cable news and talk radio are branded extremists. In this way, the terms of debate are established and candidates for office are bound to walk a line established by corporate power.
The dominance of corporate media over the public's consciousness must therefore stop. Regulatory reform would be nice, but one is confronted with a chicken and egg dilemma. Until politicians are elected who are not beholden to lobbyists, there will be little substantive change in the regulation of media corporations. Consequently, it is to the Internet, to public access television, to independent publishing, to the arts and public radio that we must turn to find a new direction in American politics. Rather than raising hundreds of millions of dollars in failed elections, it would be more sensible to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to sustain alternative media, which can, in turn, inform citizens about the policy positions taken by candidates for office -- and not only the president. Even without heaps of money, independent media can be produced by people who have time, conviction, and intelligence. If you want to see changes, get involved.