Blogs as Paragons of Intellectual Virtue
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James Joyner | Tuesday, February 13, 2007 |
While we seldom agree on politics, Chris Bowers is one of the more thoughtful essayists and shrewdest analysts on the blogosphere out there. Sometimes, though, he swings and misses. Case in point:
By speaking directly to the members of the electorate who are the most politically active and intense consumers of news, we can wield a lot of influence while simultaneously not playing the idiotic games of “gotcha” and faux outrage that have been used to try and sway low-information voters for the past several decades (no wonder low-information voters are dismissive of politics, considering how stupid people often assume they are).
There are a lot of blogs out there, including MyDD (and I hope OTB), that eschew “gotcha” and faux outrage. For the most part, though, those techniques are the sine qua non of blogging. Take a look at the most highly trafficked political blogs. I think you’ll find that those which are primarily thoughtful, rational discussions of the issues are greatly outnumbered by the hotbeds of outrage and vitriol.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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That's a shame. I usually find the hotbeds of outrage to be annoying, even when I agree with the author's basic points. But I'm in the minority, I guess.
I think that he meant that thhe audience for blogs was a different froup of people than thhe audience for faux outrage noise machinne attacks via TV and thhe radio.
You think Bowers eschews “gotcha” and faux outrage?
You're kidding, I must assume.
I think that he meant that thhe audience for blogs was a different froup of people than thhe audience for faux outrage noise machinne attacks via TV and thhe radio.
I think that's right. I just think that, for the most part, he's wrong. Just as there are civilized discussions taking place on some talk radio and television shows, that's happening on the blogs. A whole lot of both, though, are all about the red meat.
You think Bowers eschews “gotcha” and faux outrage?
Relatively speaking, yes. He's generally quite analytical. And I think his occasional outrage is genuine.
Yeah, his analysis is just plain weird. I pretty much only read blogs that aim at some moderate politics, not because I think centrism is all that great, but because it's harder to be intellectually dishonest.
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