Alec Baldwin on Government and Twitter
Posted June 17th, 2009 @ 02:39pm by Erik J. Barzeski
Baldwin: This society is very wired together, and it's the most neurotic a society has ever been. Twitter, all this stuff, I don't view as anything good. Everyone is so hyperaware of what everybody else is doing. Everybody has been convinced their opinion should count. We all need to be spouting opinions. I'm now giving you an opinion about opinions.
PB: You are.
Baldwin: Another element is how distant government has become for the average person. People want their opinion to count somewhere, so they've transferred the desires and expectations of their democratic voice over to entertainment. They don't have any input into what the government does. There is a chasm thousands of miles wide between Washington and the people. That's why shows like American Idol are so important: People want to think they can affect something in that Roman gladiatorial way - thumbs up or thumbs down. I'm not saying public officials are exempt, because every time the people can gang up and condemn a public official, they do.
Donate Life
Posted 25 Jun 2009 at 10:52pm #
He's got a point, actually. Everything these days is focused around being self-centered, though I suppose it's good for finding out what other people are up to, as well.
It's like the inverse of the tabloids, heh. I'd rather know what my friends are doing, rather than Brangelina.
Posted 07 Jul 2009 at 4:42pm #
It's true, but the real problem with the chasm between Washington and the citizen is that Washington has designs on micromanaging our lives.