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August 13, 2009

Oblivious Americans alerted by National Health Care Bill

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Millions of Americans oblivious to politics, probably don’t know what district they reside, and probably don’t know who their legislators are; now seem to be standing up and voicing their concerns about the proposed obama-health-care3National Health Care Bill. They are finding out concerning details of this proposed bill through their email, facebook, twitter and other social media tools and you can certainly not turn on the news without some coverage of the upsetting situation.

For those of us political pundits out there, all of this is distressing. No one wants to see Americans reaming our legislators for something that they may or may not have had anything to do with. Yet the information coming out about the bill is understandably concerning for even those who have chosen to not participate in politics. With trillions of dollars being added to the debt each year under the new plan, and massive new taxes to be applied to everything.. Including healthcare services! Folks that have never been behind a microphone are voicing their opinions, and thousands of new blogs are cropping up authored by those both for and against.

My question, is how will the US government deal with this new sort of grassroots vocalisation? There is talk now about a national referendum by some. I personally am concerned about our legislators calling protesters of this bill “KKK” and “Dirty Mobs”.  While I am not publicly swinging a bat for or against this particular legislation, I fear what happens to our democracy and freedom of speech when those who vocalise their concerns are diminished, arrested and (some) jailed. I would hate to see something very bad occur thanks to the acceleration and distribution of information via social media.

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  • susanlangley
    I believe that the people's vocal dissent is caused in part by the abdication of the media. The obvious lack of in-depth, investigative reporting of the Obama phenomenon has resulted in an even deeper distrust and disregard of political platitudes presented to us in matters deeply personal to the public, i.e., the proposed health care reformation, more government control of financial institutions and industries.

    Social media, even when disseminating erroneous material, gives the public at large the opportunity to read, hear and/or participate in discussions that enable it to judge conflicting reports and opinions in order to find any grains of truth that comport with its own reckoning.

    Before the media, there was the forum. Social media is merely a recurrence of that.
  • @susan do you fear the government backlash against new media and its practitioners (us)? I think that Social Media may be as important as Gutenberg's printing press. Way back in 1414 the printing press allowed the sharing of knowledge with others without being face to face with them. Masses of people rallied around new thoughts, ideas and beliefs that did not originate in their local community. Nations were destroyed, the crushing weight of the Church was overthrown and the printing press ushered in the scientific revolution and renaissance.
    To this day I believe that the Church would have very much liked to have retained control of information for the sake of the souls of the faithful.
    In the times of Johannes Gutenberg, the printing press only challenged the power of a small city state the size of Manhattan. Social Media now seeks to "moderate" the conversation and challenge many tenets of "belief" from the greatest and most powerful nation on earth.
    Too much paranoia or justified concern?
  • susanlangley
    Yes, the comparison to Gutenberg's press is apt. I think that a free people must always carry the obligation to vigilance. Remember the old saw - "Just because you're paranoid" doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
    We already suffered through the "Fairness Doctrine", the elimination of which precipitated talk radio. Although I suspect it would be politically risky to do so, some powerful Democrats have hinted at their desire to reinstate the misleadingly titled "Fairness Doctrine."
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