Criticism and the Soul of Democracy
“Honest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched, -criticism of writers by readers, of government by those governed, of leaders by those led, – this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society.” -W.E.B. Du Bois
From 10,000 feet it would appear that we've taken DuBois' maxim to heart.
The advent of social media has blown away walls that previous separated writers and readers. Where journalists and pundits were relatively sheltered from reader's criticism in the days of print and television, the two-way nature of communications on the Internet has made media critics of us all. As Andrew Sullivan put it, "Now the feedback was instant, personal, and brutal."
In many ways citizens also have more access to government representatives than in the past. Town halls still flourish, and the web allows government to circumvent the media and speak directly to the people. Obama's Open Government Initiative has the potential to pull back the veil on government spending, and give citizens access to large swaths of data paid for by their tax dollars.
The reality of the American polity belies these much heralded innovations. There is a lot of criticism, but not to the benefit of American democracy. If democratized communication tools are supposed to empower citizens to circumvent corporate media, why is the opposition party actually taking its cues from Fox News? The proliferation and repetition of blatant falsehoods in the health care debate makes me wonder whether we are more informed, or simply better distracted.
Everybody is talking. What DuBois misses about criticism is that there has to be someone listening for it to mean anything. LBJ, The last president to pass substantive health care legislation, kept a plaque on his wall that read, "You ain't learnin' nothing when you're talking." I'll stop talking.
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