"Don't taze me, bro!"
Wrapped up in that hyped scream from a college student in Florida are many aspects of 2007 issues in the U.S. Among this student's rants, here are examples: even college students now know how to create media "news" for one's self-important promotions...African-American language has penetrated white American youth and is thought of as cool...the Taser brings into view a multi-faceted group of issues (police brutality, free speech, violence, guns and gun control, etc.)...in the sweep of things today, allowing audience questions carries a bigger and bigger risk and free speech is curtailed...we no longer truly communicate about issues, we mostly do media shouting and/or connivance...the gap between generations is growing...what once would have been seen as blatant self-promotion is no longer viewed this way or thought of in bad taste...peace is now promoted via violent acts......and so this shouted comment became a big media event in America, and was a summary of much of what is transforming in the U.S.
Is all this a reminder that with all the increasing ways to communicate with each other, with all the new and expanded ways to get the news, without the content and knowledge of the back-story, we are growing more ignorant?
"Along with responsible newspapers we must have responsible readers." -Arthur Hays Sulzberger
