Doing sociology and philosophy in real time by looking at developments in contemporary Western politics and culture, from a Moral Libertarian perspective. My mission is to stop the cultural systemist left and the authoritarian right from destroying the West's Enlightenment traditions.
Bernie Sanders Diagnosed The Biggest Problem Of Our Time | TaraElla News | Re Joe Rogan
Welcome to TaraElla News, where we examine the latest political and cultural news from the perspective of upholding classical liberal values like individual freedom, equal opportunity and free speech. We'll be doing this on most days of the week, subscribe if you're interested.
Today, I want to respond to something Bernie Sanders said in his recent interview with Joe Rogan. Basically, Bernie said that the candidate debates didn't allow enough time for the candidates to adequately present their views and policies. He said it instead resembled reality TV. He went on to expand this analysis to the current state of political discourse in America more generally, where it is common to reduce things to soundbites, and where long discussions are rare. He made it clear that he believes the media has responsibility for this regrettable situation, and also compared it to some other countries where leaders of major parties are given hours of free air time to explain their platform on TV.
As is often the case, I think Bernie has accurately diagnosed a major problem with the quality of political discussion in America and many other Western countries. While I don't always agree with Bernie, he is always great at making this kind of analysis. In fact, I strongly believe that the proliferation of fake news has a lot to do with reducing everything to soundbites. As to how this situation can be resolved, Bernie told Joe Rogan that he thinks it can only change with legislation. Regrettably, I think in the immediate present, he is essentially correct. On the other hand, if we take a longer-term view, it is the culture that needs to change.
I mean, what Bernie essentially said was that network TV wouldn't change unless they were forced to. But why would this be the case? Because they are after ratings, they are after what's popular. Which must, in turn mean that, reducing everything to soundbites, even at the risk of promoting fake news, is the popular thing to do. But then, what's popular in terms of the media landscape changes regularly, and it all depends on what the public values. Right now, the public doesn't value long-form discourse, and prefers to get their information as simple statements. But if the public can wake up to the fact that this preference is poisoning our political discourse and preventing common ground from being found, and hence preventing us from finding the necessary answers, their preference may gradually change over time. And it could already be happening right now. For example, while long-form discussions are still rare on network TV, they are becoming increasingly common on YouTube, and we all know YouTube and social media in general are essentially lead indicators in terms of political trends. That is, what we see on YouTube now, we are quite likely to see in the mainstream in several years' time. Therefore, if we independent political commentators keep up our work, we may just be able to change political discourse for the better.
The popularity of long-winded and serious political discussions on YouTube and elsewhere shows that a media landscape of soundbites and fake news doesn't have to be the case. All it takes is a widespread awareness that there is a better way to do things. And right now, by creating alternative political content, by creating meaningful content as opposed to the soundbites on mainstream media, we are spreading this awareness.
That's all for today. I'll be back next time to discuss another big idea. Subscribe if you want to follow our story. The transcripts are available on the internet. And remember to resist the hive mind and stay individualistic. The world depends on it.
