This web log represents career blog number 7, and I am looking for a good bit of luck. When I look back through my previous blogs, I see a definite evolution of thought, but I also see room for improvement. In this blog I hope to greatly increase the readability and precision of my argument, as the goal is quite different and of greater importance. In my previous blogs, my assigned goal was to use an artifact to consider a specific aspect of of political communication, and often I was admittedly vague in my interpretation of the word artifact. I was too general in my commentary. The goal here is quite different in nature; I aim to build a proposal for improved political communication at the interpersonal, public, and cultural levels. It is important that this proposal is precise, well crafted, and conscious of the serious challenges in America. With the currently maligned state of political communication, this mission has a value that far exceeds simple analysis of artifacts. Americans want a voice. All around me I see citizens who are unhappy with their political representation. The furor with which they voice their opinion betrays their inability to communicate their needs to someone who could do more than a foreign exchange student from Turkey. Although Americans are not the most astute political observers, you do have skills. In the spirit of democracy I look to the momentum of the people, the momentum of American culture to find a reasonable solution. Americans have an ability to embrace modernity while honoring the successes of the past. Technology is embraced as a valuable political tool. The popularity of TV news, the spending on TV advertisements, the proliferation of web logs, and the use of YouTube for presidential debates all provide evidence of the widespread role of modern media in current political communication. But Americans are also looking to the history of political communication in this country for inspiration. They have embraced one of the oldest forms of political communication, the town hall meeting, as a viable forum in today's political landscape. They have also embraced one of the most contentious sources of political motivation, the church. In my proposal, I seek to join the compatible tools of political communication to increase the ability of each American to share his voice, while minimizing the effect of forces that restrict voices from being heard.
Mobilizing communities to host public forums is the first logical step in improving political communication. Much of the current political power is currently in Washington. National politics enjoy an increasing influence on citizens' lives. The media and multinational corporations have the most to gain from national politics. Money and lobbyists have flooded Washington and changed the political focus in Washington; their voice is loudest and heard most clearly. But this country is a democracy, and it is constituted to protect state and local authority and subsequently, each citizen. A major component of political disillusionment is the inability of any individual to effect change because it seems it must be done on a national level, or requires money and power. (Hollihan) Town hall meetings provide a way to collect local voices and determine how to act on perceived need. Although this system was created long ago, before the population New England became too large to host a functioning meeting for all residents, it can be useful again. (Fiske) Local government meetings provide a forum for the issues of some residents, but require a knowledge of the way meetings proceed and the free time to sit through the extensive meetings. More local forums are needed, forums that are organized around the issues and energies of a community, forums that are casual and friendly as well as contentious, and forums that bring opposing viewpoints together in a respectful way. This can only be accomplished on a local level. The more people who have a stake in an issue, the more likely tensions will rise. But meeting with neighbors forces citizens with opposing viewpoints to respect one another, because they are in a carpool together, they meet on Wednesday nights for neighborhood poker, or they chat each morning when they cross paths walking their dogs. Political communication on this level will be more accessible to common citizens; it is not as intimidating and does not require the same commitment as political participation on a national level. Mobilization can be accomplished using existing forms of communication and organization, such as neighborhood phone lists, PTAs, and local social groups. All journeys begin with one step, and the first step in improving political communication is taken in local communities.
On a national level, technology has made this country much smaller, and technology must be better used to organize and share political sensibilities between members of the national community. In many cases, national political organization has been accomplished by partisan political groups, such as the Democratic and Republican political parties, or special interest groups that span political affiliation. But in either case, it is difficult to find forums that will both have an effect and accept multiple, opposing viewpoints. The national and state governments have not done an adequate job using their resources to stay in tune with public opinion. (Fishkin) It remains difficult for citizens to stay aware of the policy developments and upcoming policy discussion. These agencies need to build an electronic public forum that promotes both dissent and approval, and allows citizens to share their opinion with others, as well. The U.S. government took a major step when Barack Obama signed the Transparency and Open Government Memorandum (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/). Although this affirmed the need for open government, the policy has not yet affected great change in the U.S. Matt Taibbi's recent Rolling Stone article, "Obama's Big Sellout" (http://rawstory.com/2009/12/taibbi-obamas-big-sellout/) is an indication that an acceptable level of transparency is not yet achieved in the U.S. government. The Swiss government's website, for instance, allows citizens to share their opinion and creates opinion polls on ALL major policy issues. Its popular use and more genuine transparency remain a model for the United States.
The proliferation of blogs demands Americans become more informed about political issues. Although blogs are not the most important reason for Americans to become informed on political developments, they bring to light the need for citizens to carefully asses the objectivity and accuracy of political analysis. Blogs allow anyone with an opinion to share it with an air of authority. They provide individuals with questionable intentions to spread their messages. But they also provide normal citizens a way to share their interests, concerns, fears, and hope with the public. Restriction would limit their voice, and therefore education of the citizenry is the best possible solution to limiting the possible danger of misinformation.
Political education would also lead citizens to participate in the political process, and hopefully lead to larger voter turnout. Voters who are informed would be more likely to try to share their opinion. In sharing their opinion, they have the opportunity to feel they have an influence on the political process. The value of their opinion would correlate to an assessed value in their vote, and would hopefully lead to larger ballot box numbers.
All of the problems of political communication can not be addressed with encouragement of MORE communication - political advertising must be reduced as a political communication medium. Although advocates of political advertising argue that it is the only way many Americans receive political information, it limits political participation by providing citizens the lowest common denominator of political communication. (Valentino 338) Because education of the citizenry is a crucial element of improved political communication, the effect of TV ads must be addressed. Political advertising is often filled with partisan messages and therefore does not allow citizens to compare and contrast objective assessment of all sides of the argument. Additionally, the negative nature of these ads has led to the disillusionment of voters, and further leads to low levels of political participation. (Valentino 341)
Finally, increasing levels of political participation must be done without using wedge issues to mobilize political action. Americans must learn from the successes and failures of political history. The founding fathers of this country, like Ataturk, the founding father of my country, crafted the constitution based on an understanding that religion and politics do not mix well. Certain contentious issues can not be solved by an entire nation, and because they can not be solved, they distract politicians and sap energy from our political system. (Lumsden) Some issues are personal, and must be avoided because they lead to partisan politics, the subsequent challenges of political disillusionment, and low voter turnout. Americans can not forget this wisdom: church and state are separate for a reason. My country is also struggling with religious zealots attempting to inject religion back into politics. It is crucial to democracy the separation holds true.
Americans want a voice, and this nation has many resources to provide the forum for that voice. As long as Americans are not distracted by wedge issues like abortion or their expectations limited by the saturation of political advertisements, citizens of this country can be mobilized to become informed politically. Technology allows citizens to create a web log of this journey toward personal, political knowledge. Citizens can share their experiences with the public and receive comments on their blog that further advances their understanding of political issues and public opinion. When the plan for Open Government government in the U.S. is finally realized, those skilled in the use of media will be ready to share their opinion and make sure the government pays attention to the demands of the citizenry. The first step toward creating a national political identity more representative of a well functioning democracy is the mobilization of communities to participate in local political communication. When we bring polite politics back to the dinner table, we will be making our first step toward a new era of political communication.
Fishkin, James. "The Nation in a Room: Turning Public opinion into Policy." Boston Review, March/April, 2006. (http://www.bostonreview.net/BR31.2/fishkin.php)
Fiske, John. Civil Government in the United States: Considered with some Reference to its Origins. 1904
Hollihan, Thomas A. Uncivil Wars: Political Campaigns in a Media Age, 2nd Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009.
Lumsden, Michael. "God's Politics: An Interview with Jim Wallis." Motherjones.com, March 10, 2005. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/03/gods-politics-interview-jim-wallis)
Valentino, Nicholas, et. al., "The Impact of Political Advertising on Knowledge, Internet Information Seeking, and Candidate Preference", Journal of Communication, June, 2004, pgs. 337-354.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
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