There's something else going on, too. The proliferation of media outlets and the segmentation of society have meant that it's much easier for people to hive themselves off into like-minded cliques. Some people live in towns where nobody likes Bush. Others listen to radio networks where nobody likes Bill Clinton.
In these communities, half-truths get circulated and exaggerated. Dark accusations are believed because it is delicious to believe them. The White House aide Vince Foster was murdered. The Saudis warned the Bush Administration before the September 11 attacks.
You get to choose your own reality. You get to believe what makes you feel good. You can ignore inconvenient facts so rigorously your picture of the world is one big distortion.
I am disappointed in the Sydney Morning Herald for carrying Brooks' drivel that opposing neoconservatism makes you an antisemite. However he does make a useful point that the scattered tribes of the blogosphere and elsewhere get to select news that supports their own view of the world.
Brooks could contribute to ending this unhappy situation by not trying to squelch all critique of the Bush foreign policy as recycled antisemitism.
No comments:
Post a Comment