The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore : on Technology
Al Gore:
TV converts well-informed citizenry to well-amused audience
Our Founders’ faith in the viability of representative democracy rested on their trust in the wisdom of a well-informed citizenry, their ingenious design for checks & balances, and their belief that the rule of reason is the natural sovereign of a free
people. The Founders made a special point--in the 1st Amendment--of protecting the freedom of the printing press. And yet today, almost 45 years have passed since the majority of Americans received their news & information from the printed word.
Newspapers are hemorrhaging readers. Reading itself is in decline. The Republic of Letters has been invaded and occupied by the empire of television.In the world of TV, the massive flows of information are largely in only one direction, which makes it
virtually impossible for individuals to take part in what passes for a national conversation. Individuals receive, but they cannot send. They hear, but they do not speak. The “well-informed citizenry” is in danger of becoming the “well-amused audience.”
Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore
May 16, 2007
Al Gore:
Defend Internet freedom as ferociously as freedom of press
The Internet has the potential to revitalize the role played by the people in our constitutional framework. It is the most interactive medium in history. But the Internet must be developed and protected, in the same way we develop and protect markets--
through the establishment of fair rules of engagement and the exercise of the rule of law. The same ferocity that our Founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the Internet.
The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic. We must ensure that the Internet remains open and accessible to all citizens without any limitation on the ability of individuals to choose the content they wish regardless of the
Internet service provider they use to connect to the Web. We cannot take this future for granted. We must be prepared to fight for it, because of the threat of corporate consolidation and control over the Internet marketplace of ideas.
Source: The Assault on Reason, by Al Gore
May 16, 2007
Page last updated: Sep 27, 2012