Steven Strauss: America: Drifting Towards the End of the Republic, With an Entertained Citizenry

Steven Strauss: America: Drifting Towards the End of the Republic, With an Entertained Citizenry
07/04/2012
"A republic, if you can keep it" Benjamin Franklin, when asked whether America would be a republic or a tyranny.
Our political debates reflect little interest in facts and nuanced discussion -- soundbites reign supreme. The fault's not with our politicians, however; it's with us. Politicians (e.g., Mitt Romney, President Obama, etc.) don't deal with reality because citizens prefer politics as entertainment and theater. If we're the generation that loses our republic, the epitaph should read: "American Republic, Killed by the Internet and Cable TV."
No prior generation of Americans has had such convenient/free access to high quality information. This should be democracy's Golden Age. Paradoxically, the ease with which citizens stay informed -- is destroying the foundations of our republic.
If this seems counter-intuitive, read on.
The Internet revolution provides an incredible wealth of high quality online data from the Congressional Budget Office, Census Bureau and many others, while Google and other search engines rapidly locate what we're seeking. We have access to dozens of cable TV channels, rather than just three networks.
But the easy availability of information hasn't promoted fact-based discussion. Instead, rumor and innuendo have a greater-than-ever role in politics. For example, although President Obama was born in America - - 13 percent of Americans believe he was born in another country. This is a partisan issue -- 23 percent of Republicans think Obama was born outside the United States."