On Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death”
ArtsJournal
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11/25/22
“Were you outraged during the Trump years and spent hours every day following every little scandal and transgression? For what purpose? After, say, the first dozen or so outrages, did subsequent scandal change your opinion about the man? Did additional information shape new actions, new responses on your part that made a difference in either stopping him or changing the situation? You gave money, sure. You voted, sure. But think about the possibly thousands of hours you wasted in being outraged. And to what purpose? This was Postman’s point. The “news” as reported on television was about things its viewers would be unable to impact, so why be informed about it?”
On Reading Old Books
Washington Post
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11/18/22