Jon Stewart (again!) had a guest on The Daily Show the other night, a Dr. Marc Siegel (see his new book at right, and his web site). He talked about the way potential threats are reported to us, by both the government and the media. This is not a partisan issue, it has been going on for decades (tho the bushies are better at it than others). It is more a cultural issue, fed by mass/instant media. Every "threat", AIDS, SARS, "terrorism", mad cow, anthrax, North Korea, USSR, Communism, killer bees, etc., etc. are presented as a threat for each of us equally, and as an equal threat relative to each other. The result is we are not ready for the real issues, like Katrina. Give it a look.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
The Fear Factor
Jon Stewart (again!) had a guest on The Daily Show the other night, a Dr. Marc Siegel (see his new book at right, and his web site). He talked about the way potential threats are reported to us, by both the government and the media. This is not a partisan issue, it has been going on for decades (tho the bushies are better at it than others). It is more a cultural issue, fed by mass/instant media. Every "threat", AIDS, SARS, "terrorism", mad cow, anthrax, North Korea, USSR, Communism, killer bees, etc., etc. are presented as a threat for each of us equally, and as an equal threat relative to each other. The result is we are not ready for the real issues, like Katrina. Give it a look.
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