Amusing ourselves to Death
I think that our country would choose a president based mostly on his or her appearance and partially based on his or her charisma, and catch phrases, but as far as philosophies go, I don't think that our country cares about philosophies at all. They take too much time to understand, and catch phrases are very easy to understand. i think about Reagan explaining the trickle down effect, and how everyone was so hypnotized by his smile and personality, that the theory itself with all of its holes, just blew by us. I think that youtube may alter this focus a little bit as you can listen to someon's ideas for a longer period of time, but I am not sure that you wouldn't care about charisma.
Comments
Remember the "Where's the beef?" commercials that became a campaign slogan in the 1980s?
Also, there was the, "It's the economy stupid" mantra for Clinton in 92 and 96.
Posted by: Melanie | April 23, 2008 5:02 PM
You just made me think, what about the charisma of the media who portray an individuals ideas? I think people would buy what ever the slick news man sold them.
Posted by: maggie | April 23, 2008 5:02 PM
Can philosophy not be portrayed through charisma and therefore kill two birds with one stone? There is a level of philosophizing over a cup of tea at 4:00 in the afternoon, following the lead of Phaedrus and Plato, but then in some ways, in contemplating the last few years of politics and the current candidates, there is a level of philosophy that comes through within the catch phrases and the charismatic gesture and voice installations...
I think philosophy is hard to escape and cannot clearly be ruled out in all aspects...
Posted by: Anonymous | April 23, 2008 5:06 PM
Can philosophy not be portrayed through charisma and therefore kill two birds with one stone? There is a level of philosophizing over a cup of tea at 4:00 in the afternoon, following the lead of Phaedrus and Plato, but then in some ways, in contemplating the last few years of politics and the current candidates, there is a level of philosophy that comes through within the catch phrases and the charismatic gesture and voice installations...
I think philosophy is hard to escape and cannot clearly be ruled out in all aspects...
Posted by: Shastan | April 23, 2008 5:06 PM