Quote of the Day | 0131
The government does not seem able to understand or to explain its authority, the grounds for its decisions. Its antagonists, the press, interprets the government’s operations in such a way as to destabilize public judgement. The jargon used by both antagonists excites, it thrills, it bewilders, it frightens, it confuses, it annihilates coherence, it makes comprehension utterly impossible. Nightly the anchorpersons preen, and while they deliver the news of the day they also pressure the public to take a progressive line. They want their listeners to come to the right conclusions about South Africa or Lithuania or unwed mothers–or the drug crisis, education, or race relations. They discuss confidently matters of which they knew nothing at all last week.
Saul Bellow, ‘The Distracted Public’, in It All Adds Up, 157-158.
[x]#5361 fan zaterdag 31 januari 2009 @ 17:00:37
