Saving Democracy

Doc talks about wanting to save the net, but I worried about the bigger picture. As I pointed out recently, I feel that Democracy is at stake. We've got a press thats been neutered, and a culture that only worries about quarterly results.

The stakes are bigger than the amount we're going to have to pay to download the White Album for the 10th time (along with the bonus DVD)... it's the very nature of our society that is truely at stake.

Doc thought part of it to be hyperbole when he mentioned Hal Crowther's article about the neutered press. I think we need to all collectively gather up our courage, and commit ourselves to doing a few simple things, with as much persistance as we possibly can:

• Don't repeat the party line, don't feed the corporate propaganda machine with its insistence on topics de jure. Doc linked to a propaganda piece in The New Republic, and he was nice enough to link to my comment flagging it as such (as I'm composing this!)
• Don't just react, be proactive... think about the message you're sending... if all else fails, let the post sit overnight before posting it. (Breaking my own rules here.... hmmmm)
• Try to think in the biggest possible picture, but do what you can to make a difference that you can see (and measure). We need the ego gratification of getting something accomplished to help sustain our efforts.
• Speak up in person, as well as online. If someone says something you disagree with, please use your hard won right to express your view point, and who knows, you both might learn something.
• It's all about dialog... not just rants (which this may prove to be.... time will tell)

Maybe I'm just doing the very things I caution against, but I feel the country is nearing a tipping point, and we need to assert ourselves, or lose any real chance we have at taking it back.

Thanks for your time and attention.

--Mike--