Blog Prompt 4

Shows such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show allow a more general audience to understand and access politics in a way they couldn’t before. They are very easy to grasp and encourage everyday people to have a political opinion. It does further polarization in a way though. These shows are clearly very democratic or very republican in their views. Most people probably only watch the shows that most closely match their political views. This causes them to become further wrapped up in those views and to believe they are right. Instead, people should listen to the other side’s rational argument and formulate their own ideas.

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  1. Steve MacekApril 11, 2017 at 3:00 PM

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    1. Steve MacekApril 11, 2017 at 3:00 PM

      I think it is true that shows like the Daily show allow a general audience to understand and access politics much better than, say, hard news (the New York Times, etc.). But they make politics accessible by making it into a joke. Maybe that isn't all bad -- in a democracy, we should definitely not view our politicians with reverence-- but I wonder if it breeds a certain cynicism about politics that could be unhealthy.

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