I haven't read Siegel's book, but I want to post a young thought.

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Standing Athwart E-History

Submitted by SL, Feb 19, 2008 11:45

The internet is no obstruction to democracy as it is a mirror to what democracy is essentially or at bottom: chaos, people-chaos. That's the state the US strives for in the name of some censored, repressed version of democracy that is democracy negated, posited as an obstruction against its own possibility of existing. (Hegel's dialectic would be useful here, but I'd rather explain how somewhere else.)

Quick claims. We must be careful with the internet, as we would with a hot temper, to put it lightly (or as we would with, say, Joyce's Finnegans Wake and Ulysses). The beast offers itself as a convenience or distraction, an intrusive force, intellectually unhealthy; or a challenge demanding more focus and persistence in seeking the rare and difficult. There are modes of human feeling, reason, and imagination that the internet cannot dull; these should be easier to acknowledge and hone once we find out what the internet can make common. The monstrous "confusion" of the internet constitutes a truth--like the messy, stream-of-consciousness, daily journals of a novelist--that belongs to each of us; it allows for order to flourish outside of itself. Possible to eradicate this "Other" (now more abstract, now letters and numbers and voices) but what a prospect, what else is new.

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Comment	By	Date
When I read that, the following recent article came to mind: - Has the unbridled spread of commercialism and technology transformed... [MORE]	C. Ikehara	Mar 4, 2008 21:57
Is there a more worn-out phrase? Perhaps "X is a necessary book" might be. After the first couple of paragraphs,... [MORE]	Dan Mayes	Feb 23, 2008 03:26
1. "The fault I find with our journalism is that it forces us to take an interest in some fresh... [MORE]	Mike Boehm	Feb 21, 2008 04:14
Similar thoughts abounded with the advent of the printing press and the Gutenberg bible. I wonder if Mr. Siegel drafted... [MORE]	Michael Makowsky	Feb 20, 2008 14:15
Thanks for a thoughtful review. Over 20 years ago Neil Postman also raised questions over the impact of mass media... [MORE]	Chuck Lanigan	Feb 19, 2008 16:46
Thanks, Chuck Lanigan, for the reminder, I used to teach Postman's book (AMUSING...) and found students would feel attacked personally... [MORE]	George T.Karnezis	Mar 4, 2008 14:45
The internet is no obstruction to democracy as it is a mirror to what democracy is essentially or at bottom:...	SL	Feb 19, 2008 11:45
An exceedingly large amount of bloggers are people who WERE trained as journalists. They blog rather than write for a... [MORE]	Kristen O	Feb 19, 2008 01:45
It's unfortunate that Wikipedia gets picked on so much - it's a paradise of truth and light, compared to most... [MORE]	Paul Perry	Feb 18, 2008 23:52
i relish the fact that i'm reading this anti-technology review on a laptop in bed in between refreshing my facebook... [MORE]	massrepublican	Feb 18, 2008 23:44
This book sounds like something we need much more of ie: critical examination of a modern phenomenon that is too... [MORE]	id hamilton	Feb 18, 2008 23:20
Oh please. Lee Siegel goes to a baseball game and is dismayed to note that some people near his seat... [MORE]	Ellis Weiner	Feb 18, 2008 20:47
The advice to those who overeat should be the same to those who spend inordinate time on the Internet: .... [MORE]	Harvee	Feb 18, 2008 14:53
Ms. Rosen tells us that Siegel makes three points: the Internet, under the guise of promoting democracy, actually leads to... [MORE]	Stephen Kennamer	Feb 18, 2008 13:38
A few more minusses 1)The Internet has enabled easier Terrorist connection and action 2) Hate- groups thrive on the Internet. And they... [MORE]	Shalom Freedman	Feb 18, 2008 02:42

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