Mark Trahant: Society is being numbed by dumb

Monday, June 18, 2007  

"It's easy to think of media as a base proposition, fancy gossip framed as "news." This is even more so in an era where inane sells; "American Idol" is more popular than democracy itself.

Many people blame the media and the Web for this general trend. After all, we give the people what they want, right?

Our society is being numbed by dumb. It's really easy to seal yourself off and be free of intellectual challenge. It's simpler to plug in and listen to your favorite music, watch reality TV or even read discourse that affirms long-held beliefs, rather than taste unknown flavors.

I commute to work surrounded by people disconnected from conversation, plugged into their favorite tunes as a distraction from routine.

I can't blame the Web for this narrative, because our ability to learn from a wider community of ideas is unparalleled in human history.

I am excited by this prospect -- and am eager to take advantage."

Get the Story:
Dumbing down? Don't blame the media (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 6/17)

More Mark Trahant:
Mark Trahant: Creating a world with less garbage (6/11)
Mark Trahant: A boost of the unambiguous (6/4)
Mark Trahant: Economics of immigration reform (5/28)
Mark Trahant: The changing face of America (5/21)
Mark Trahant: Agree to disagree about warming (5/7)
Mark Trahant: Optimism for the newspaper business (4/30)
Mark Trahant: Tribal colleges effective and essential (4/23)
Mark Trahant: The global warming debate (4/16)
Mark Trahant: America's cycles of boom and bust (4/9)
Mark Trahant: Spring cleaning for the government (3/26)
Mark Trahant: The state of the changing news media (3/19)
Mark Trahant: Mismanagement of the Indian trust (3/12)
Mark Trahant: More gloomy prospects for economy (3/5)
Mark Trahant: An important vote for Seattle (2/26)
Mark Trahant: America headed toward credit meltdown (2/19)
Mark Trahant: Doom and gloom on global warming (2/12)
Mark Trahant: Americans unsettled over economy (2/5)
Mark Trahant: Too hard to ignore global warming (1/22)
Mark Trahant: Women finally take their place (1/15)
Mark Trahant: Raise taxes to pay for war in Iraq (1/8)
Mark Trahant: President Gerald Ford and Indian health (1/2)