NP: John Cage, 4'33"

So, Bill Maher is back on HBO, and I was struck by two exchanges on this week's show. First, obviously, was the matter of Larry Craig. I thought both Bill and theoretical presidential candidate Mike Gravel took the easy way out by simply branding Craig as some sort of hypocrite. Andrew Sullivan, back from his wedding, eloquently points out why this is not accurate and how the very fabric of the GOP stance on gays is exactly what makes this story so sensational. I realize Craig looks like a pinata and Maher's show a stick, but that doesn't make it especially gratifying to watch.

The other point was when Maher very earnestly asked John Mellencamp what it is that he's missing about the heartland, and Mellencamp said it's that these are honest people who believe that everyone else is honest, too, and so they believe what they're told by people who aren't necessarily on the level. It devolved into an argument about being naive versus being cynical, about believing everything you're told versus believing nothing, and no one stuck up the middle ground, which isn't being cynical, but being critical. This is not a binary situation.

Of course, this opens up a nasty can of worms about the ability -- or more importantly, the inclination -- of the general populace to take the time to consider things being presented to them as facts, but that's a can of worms that really, truly, needs to be opened.

Which brings me to another talk show and a similar topic. Henry Rollins had Ariana Huffington on his show over the weekend, and Huffington made a strong point about how blogs and the Internet are an important counterbalance to media consolidation and the biased reporting of news that results from it. This strikes me as a somewhat dangerous approach, because it relies way too heavily on the notion that "I don't trust the news I'm given so I search out more information online, and everyone I hang out with online does it, too, so therefore we've got it covered." It's that online representativeness fallacy again.

My concern is that the blogosphere will rest on its self-congratulatory laurels here, and not realize that educating the people who are already inclined to seek out more information on the stories they see, hear and read through traditional media is only the first step, and the bigger issue is getting those who aren't so inclined to wake up.