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• Wednesday, November 7, 2007 07:31 AM

  No Network, No Boss, No Constituency

  I'm not sure where this ends up. It reminds me of so much that was said about television--the harbinger of intellectual degradation--which proved party true and party false.

  Mr. Sunstein doesn't seem to be suggesting anything that can be "done" about the problem except recognizing it for what it is--a reflection of larger patterns that will have their way regardless of the medium.

  I agree that understanding the opposition is necessary and accepting that they are as transfixed by the group dynamic on the right as well as the left. But I'm not sure using the idea as a context for Obama is such a good idea. (Unless maybe you want a job from him.) Edwards and Hillary are candidates who also get the point and practice it.

  But so what? The "cause" of the problem goes deeper than the medium. I think he establishes that inadvertently. The psychology of the "right," and "left" (an arbitrary polarity in the first place) is consistent throughout history and cultures. What else is new? The group seems to thrive on opposition--or demonization as it is now called. If it's not the lady across the street who lets her dog poop on your lawn it's those damn pinkos who want free health insurance.

  The blogs have made it possible for the first time for those who do not have a platform in the media or at an institution to show what they have to offer on the basis of merit alone, and that is what makes it exciting to me. It expands the dialogue to include those who have nothing else at stake--no network, no boss, no constituency.

  That's a "freedom" I'm not sure we've seen before and that is what makes it interesting in tracking its impact. It is actually an opportunity to see what "ordinary" people think without the usual agendas.

  —Ben Sen Read Ben Sen's other letters
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