With the Republican race heating up, many Americans are glued to their T.V. sets watching to see who will be the next contender to Obama. With Super Tuesday commencing in the next 24 hours, Oklahoma is far from exempt from this demographic of political leisurists. John Wilson, a sociologist, wrote a book roughly 20 years ago titled "Politics and Leisure." In the book he describes the differences between governmental styles, politics and leisure's effects on such and vice versa.
Wilson goes into detail describing how the media plays an integral role in shaping policy and voting trends for democratic/republic societies. I couldn't help but think of the last two presidential elections that I have been a part of and noticed this trend of media and its effect on public opinion/voting. It's no big secret that ABC, CBS and CNN news are geared more towards the liberal end of policy and their news reporting reflects such. The conservative side of the aisle is not exempt from this trend either, with Fox News waving that banner. If one were to flip between these channels and find reports on the same topic, it would be easy to see the spin each network puts on a report. The previous presidential election was a contest between our current placeholder Pres. Obama and Sen. John McCain. While the contest was largely a blowout in favor of Obama, I couldn't help but notice how in the weeks prior ABC and CBS featured more pro Obama interviews than McCain, and Fox News did just the opposite. I fear that those who watch only one news channel can only hear one side of the story with this polarized media, and this potentially jeopardizes the integrity of our voting system. Political leisurists-those who watch political trends as a leisure activity, must ensure that they hear both sides of the story, so as to make an informed decision when it comes time to enter the polling place.
The Washington Post recently ran an article stating that in the last Republican Debate, played on all major networks, gained an audience of over 7 million viewers. It seems as though politics in America are beginning to rise to the level of major sporting events. The constant verbal jousts between candidates is not only informative of their stance, but in a way mildly entertaining and somewhat reflective of a verbal boxing match. So I ask, are politics becoming a form of sport in America, or are citizens hungry for information?
Personally I don't give in to the politcal jousting between canidates. I know which way I am going to vote in the presidential election in Nov. So Super Tuesday has since past, and I didn't make it to the polls to vote. I listen in to some of the debates among the canidates. But nothing to intense just yet. I think citizens have many sources for information on any politcal canidate or the pres. Just need to be careful where they get this information from, the internet has tons of news sources available for free. But with the trash talking and other forms of throwing the "other guy" under the bus that goes on with each party politics do have some form of sporting events. I think it boils down to how the citizen views the event.
ReplyDelete