Monday, October 29, 2007

Speaking of nuetrality...



Mark Poster's CyberDemocracy makes mention of existing political theories including LacoueLabarthe's insight on the "limitations of a "left/right" spectrum of ideologies" as well as Laclau's view of a democracy "that opens new positions of speech, empowering previously excluded groups and enabling new aspects of social life to become part of the political process."
I believe that most bloggers, including advocates of Net Neutrality, seem to adopt the romanticized view of Laclau's democracy in which, through the internet, an individual's form of expression or standpoint can be heard loud and clear, even if it apposes those who wish to keep certain groups or ideals subjugated.

I guess my problem would be seeing a middle ground represented in the "left/right" spectrum previously mentioned. We are often taught to think of things in terms of black and white, this or that, and this is nothing new to the advent of the internet. But people seem to think that a wider range of "gray" tones are represented in user created media. I have found the opposite, in that bloggers and those alike, choose a particular polar standpoint on a situation. You either love Firefly or you are a troll who hates it. You viewed "An Inconvenient Truth" and support Gore's efforts, or you think he's a blabbering idiot trying to hypnotize followers. You want the net to be "free" of corporate control or you are a million-dollar mogul looking to capitalize. You are a Democrat or a Republican. I'm guessing that those "12 million American adults" who keep a blog generally represent some polar opposite, and if they don't, their arguments are not viewed as often. I'd like to see a broader representation of the material out there in cyberspace. Maybe something in a RGB, or better yet a CMYK scale.

No comments: