Are Blogs Good For Democracy? A Debate Featuring The Yale Political Union

Arianna Huffington recently spoke before the Yale Political Union at a debate around the question, "Resolved: Blogs Are Good For Democracy." While Arianna argued that blogs support democracy inasmuch as bloggers can challenge conventional wisdom — a cornerstone of American democracy going as far back as Thomas Paine — the students in the Yale Political Union engaged in a spirited debate about the role blogs and bloggers play in a democratic society. The resolution passed, 33-22.

In honor of that debate, and to bring that dialogue to the Huffington Post, we have featured four students' speeches from that night.

Fernando Reyes' post, Blogging Towards A Digital Democracy, highlights "the real possibility that individuals that have been empowered now have the tools to break through the ignorance that is possible by physical separation."

Kate Maltby's post, Why Blogs Are Bad For Democracy, argues that "the deeply personal nature of blogs, in combination with the echo chamber effect, has fueled the rise of single issue campaigning," which inherently hurts our democracy.

David Broockman discusses the Left's intellectual tradition of deconstructing complex issues but argues that "Blogs Trample On Leftist Traditions" in his post.

And Leah Anthony Libresco argues that "blogs do improve democracy, not by giving the authors a forum to express their ideas, but by giving ordinary citizens access to the ideas they care most about" in her post, titled, "A Well-Informed Citizenry, Being Necessary To The Liberty Of A Free State..."

Please read the students' posts and share your thoughts in the comments.

Comments

[MRb1000]

Blogger keep them honest!!!! We fine the information then we get it out as soon as possible to our friends and family!

[5150]

4 out of 5 dentists say DRILL BABY DRILL.

[MichaelTurton]

I think they should next debate whether sunshine is good for plants. I pity the poor debaters who took the negative on that one.

[Veri]

On the streets of London, at the beginning of the Age of Reason, scientific debate would occur as individuals stood on their soapbox, and argued in the favor of one or another theory or idea. These discussions, in public, propelled England in scientific endeavour. The result of which was an Empire upon which The Sun never set.


Blogs are the new soapboxes. Discussion, so much lacking in America, is carried on through this electronic medium. The exposition of belief, right or wrong, serves to educate a woefully uneducated populace. Right is rewarded, wrong is ridiculed. Uncomfortable truths are revealed. Bias is exposed.


To question whether blogs are right or wrong is, in itself, a fine example of today's political discourse in America. A discourse that has been lacking for far too long. Times were good, ignorance flourished. Times are bad, blog. Discuss what has gone wrong in America's political, social, and scientific institutions.


The end result being, maybe, a brighter future for our Children and Grandchildren. As America stands today, we are a declining superpower, set to be overtaken within decades. Every form of communication and the lack of restrictions on communication serves to soften the blow. The blow, when we all wake up one morning and, as Americans, realize that through the actions of the last thirty-five years, have allowed ourselves to decline into obscurity and ridicule.

[abooboo]

Not only are blogs good for democracy, democracy wouldn't exist now without it. Why? Because we'd be totally dependent upon the MSM for information and guess who MSM serves? The powers that be, of course, which explains why they're so eager to shut down blogging. They're not stupid & know that the Internet is the technology that will enable us to change the world. And it couldn't have come along at a more propitious moment, because economic collapse + perpetual war + global warming = Opportunity.

[munki]

to FOX Tv...I like you to know... your slandering of Obama is totally unwarranted for the past 30 min and now...I am not an afro American, and am angry!!!
If you know they were treated... as well as non-Whites­...
they need to seek for advise... not much choices...
one learn from there....

I am totally upset with YOU as a big network to slander anyone...
Palin - I must admit have told all my buddies that SHE IS NOT QUALIFIED AND TOTALLY UPSET WITH MCCAIN. SHE MAY BE SOMEONE IN 4-8 YEARS... HEY... We are no SuperPower­... borrow money from other countries.­.. WAKE UP!!!! We need a fresh blood... STOP BEING another Palin with racial comment.

Thanks and NO THANKS for you racist comments..­. I am furious as I was not for Obama, but... I do not believe in any slandering like you are doing!!!! He learns... give him a credit... I voted for McCain in Primary until he picked "not so straight and no facts straight woman..." If you support her now... so you can earn money... sad another greed.

[munki]

They do not necessary allow us to say what we want... censored? yes...
Do not complain of other countries.­.. We do just the same

[stargazer13]

yes too the head lines

[GrainOSand]

Blogging allows many who live in cultural and political bubbles to step outside of that bubble and get a more panoramic view of life. That has to be good for Democracy. It forces people with their nose firmly planted on an ideological tree to step back and look at the vastness, the density, and the variety of the ideological forest. That has to be good for a system that claims to be inclusive of all, for the very nature of blogging invites and stimulates inclusion, which in turn fosters transformation.

[Retrofuturistic]

The internet, and especially blogs, are the only vestiges of democracy that are left. Our representatives respond to lobbyists instead of the people, the Justice Department is politicized, the executive branch has taken imperial power, and the mainstream media is a propaganda tool of the administration. So the internet is the only remaining avenue for honest discussion, the only place left where you can find the "real" news.

What a stupid question. You mean somebody out there thinks we still live in a democracy? You didn't look at the last two elections? And what about the millions of people who signed petitions asking for Bush and Cheney to be impeached?

This is no longer a democracy. It might be a corporate oligarchy or something close to a fascist theocracy, but it's not a democracy.

[RobinSeattle]

"Kate Maltby's post, Why Blogs Are Bad For Democracy, argues that "the deeply personal nature of blogs, in combination with the echo chamber effect, has fueled the rise of single issue campaigning," which inherently hurts our democracy.­"

Has she been asleep her whole life? Like single issue campaigning would be something new. Prohibition anyone? Prop 13? The anti-abortion movement? Pay attention me lady.

I would also argue that the leftist blogs have thankfully sabotaged the complacent MSM's tendency to echo the cant of conservative politicians and think tanks while also encouraging the media to just do a better job of fact checking (which is still a work in progress, unfortunately).

[gregjones]

Listen to Obama Talk Radio.....­Nothing But The Truth with Greg Jones. What MSM omits....y­ou'll hear on NBTT !

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/HeadingLeft/The-Greg-Jones-Show/2008/10/05/NOTHING-BUT-THE-TRUTH-with-Greg-Jones

[SwingVoter]

What is he hiding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afawZWEtCKc

[UCSD101]

Blogs are good for Democracy, and should not be controlled.

There is staff-generated media and user-generated media. I user - generated media as opposed to the former.

The web was originally a publishing medium, and there are a lot of sites out there owned by print media which are journalist-created, editor-released, traditional content.

There is nothing particularly unique about online media, other than that it makes BOTH styles of content publishing easier, and therefore the user-generated content increases faster, since the barrier to entry was previously higher.

Beside mainstream media is very biased. Online I have the opportunity, (take time) to cross reference many sources on issues that of concern.

OBAMA-BIDEN 2008

[tempting]

The so called "powers that be" are already talking about getting rid of our internet independence. Check out "Moyers on Democracy" http://www.linktv.org/specials Check out these issues before you make up your mind.

[UCSD101]

I know... "New World Order" and all - pretty scary. But no one can say we didn't put up a good fight.

OBAMA-BIDEN 2008

[Ohg]

The answer is yes - but with qualifications. Free Press is good - but professional journalism has developed ethical standards. The standards of news reporting is different than the standards of blogging - but there must be some boundaries. ..........­..........­.....
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/10/05/ethics-in-journalism-seek-truth/

[JiminNC]

Ethical standards? Like on Faux News? Give me bloggers any day rather than corporate turdsickles wrapped in newspaper. The fact that Yale would spend the time and effort to debate the obvious may explain a few things about where our country has gone. They should be debating the need for corporate news programming, something where there is a real question. I lump both left and right view "opinion journalists" into that but caveat that there is a need for the Keith Olbermanns and has been for years, as long as there are Bill O'Reillies, Joe Scarboroughs, BF Hannities and Glen Becks... Did I forget Rush?

[boophus]

Qualifications??? Professional journalism? What a joke. MSM is corporate controlled news. They play what pays by attracting viewers. They go with stories that are poorly researched and documented; shallow; biased by the reporter/producers slant; pieces of propaganda that give only the info they want to let out. I quit watching MSM years ago... they are no longer news - they are entertainment. As for the media being liberal - what a crock ... conservatives are such whiners -when every story isn't framed the way they want or they get caught with a hand down thier pants or someone elses they whine liberal bias. Clinton lies about a sex act between consenting adults and Bush lies to get us into war - hmmmm which is really our business and which is titillating? Obama has some interactions with a man in his community =it is compared on equal footing to colluding with Keating. .
What the heck do you mean by boundaries? Is this rationalizing the desire to impose a set of standards in some form of censorship ...for some reason ...like maybe : partisanship & propaganda. I think a moderated forum has an obligation to restrain only foul language and flame wars ... I DO find flame wars so very BORING. Also I really would like to not have to read pages of the exact same ideas to find jewels. I suspect that is why Huff doesn't run some posts.