Annotation for source 4

Source:
AL GORE: The Assault on Reason - 5.29.07 Full Speech." Web. 24 Oct 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jdPcwwK5DII>.


This video was a presentation made by Al Gore introducing his new book at the time The Assault on Reason. In this presentation, Gore presents the central theme of the work as well as some specific evidence to introduce the subject. Specifically, Gore describes how despite the fact that the truth ran counter to the belief, when the US went to war with Iraq over 60% of American believed Saddam Hussein to be directly related to the September 11th attacks. Gore goes on to criticize the media for being pressured into presenting misleading evidence so as to show the action of government leading to war in a positive light as he explains that they were threatened with potential loss not only in viewership but also in advertising revenue. As a result, news stations continued to broadcast misleading information while caring only about their bottom-line. In general, Gore explains that the current for of media in which people consume the information provided by others without generating any themselves mean that the few have greater power in the marketplace of ideas than the many. This allows the interests of the few to be advanced at the expense of the many any is by so counter to ideal of democracy. As such, Gore explains the necessity for people to actively participate in their government and in the marketplace of ideas so that specific groups are not able to hold undue power over a disproportionate group of people. Such activity, Gore claims is conducive of political decisions that benefit all of society instead of lining the pockets of the wealthy and continuing their hawkish agenda.


This source can easily be used in my inquiry because the market place of ideas is really a capitalistic view of the Burkean Parlor Room where groups inside are making academic, social, political, and economic decisions based on the number of people who agree with them. In this way ideas flourish because they are the most popular. However if corporations have too much power in the parlor room, they are able to make ideas popular despite the fact that they are counter to the interests of the people popularizing it.