Amateur Megalomania

I might be staking out a contrarian view on this, but recent events raised some questions in my mind about the future of the Blogosphere. I admit that my thoughts are still a bit half-formed at this point, and I would entertain debate on the subject.

The recent Dan Rather and Eason Jordan events are very good things in my mind, as it illustrates the ability of the ‘sphere to drag the truth out from the formerly impenetrable bastion of Journalism and put it on vulgar display for any who cares to take the time to read. There have been some justified concerns on other sites about the next big scandal, particularly if an innocent gets the Rough Handling, and too much damage is done before the self correcting ‘sphere accounts for the truth. The reputation of innocent men will then only be saved by the self-imposed ethics of the various bloggers, which at the moment is up to the task.

But someday, it may not be. But that fear isn’t my primary concern at the moment. Even if certain large players decide to don the ideological blinders of the New York Times, blog readers are sufficiently savvy to take the bandwidth elsewhere overnight at the first whiff of spin. Unless you LIKE the spin…

Which led me to another thought, and while it is hardly original, it did give me a reason to pause.

The Republic is founded on the principle of representative rule, and part of the responsibility of the representative is to ignore the mob if the mob is not well informed, or simply wrong about an issue. You can find many great conversations elsewhere about the perils of Democracy, so I won’t belabor my own fear of mob rule. In general, we, as voters, are not fit to make the decisions at the highest level of our government.

Therefore we elect people to make these decisions for us. They are insulated by a term of office sufficient for their function. Congressmen are more beholden to the people in two year terms, constantly looking over their shoulder at the angry mob. Presidents have a longer term, and ideally under the original system, completely insulated from the people through an Electoral College system that no longer provides sufficient padding from the whim of the mob. Senators are a different story entirely, no longer serving as a representative of the State in the Federal System, but instead elected by popular whim, serving as little more than Super-Congressmen. The more we loose these insulations from the mob, the faster our system will break down.

So went the Roman Republic under the weight of demagogues who learned to shape the mob’s desire and flaunt the rule of law.

So how does that bring us to Blogs?

The case of Howard Dean catalyzed the thought for me. While Dean, as the DNC Chairman, isn’t an elected official, he will have considerable power in shaping the candidates that will be running over the next few election cycles. So his influence will be considerable over the national debate. That in itself is not a bad thing, but it illustrates a trend that could be destructive in years to come.

His elevation came at the hands of the mob, amplified by this new means of communication. Say what you will about the Democratic Party Machine, I don’t think they really wanted Dean in charge. But every other candidate was methodically torn to shreds by the LeftySphere, rendering Dean as the only ‘viable’ choice to the grassroots of the party. This could very well be a case where the leaders of the party had a responsibility to ignore their constituents and do what was best for their electoral chances.

Big deal, you might say. Grassroots efforts have always been part of the party system. This could simply be an extension of the same lobbying technique that has went on forever. Perhaps. But I wonder about the amplification effect of the passionate fringe in a medium like this. It is radical passion that is best ignored on both sides of the spectrum in the interest of better (and less) government. Will the Blogosphere exacerbate the radicalization of national politics? We are seeing it in play on the Left, and it might only be the current electoral success that holds the same impulse in check on the Right. Will it be our turn to stampede the next time we are at the bottom of the cycle?

Leaders are elected to lead us, not to poll us. They are chosen to do what they think is right, even if we can’t see the Big Picture. At the end of a term, we have a chance to reconsider, but evaluations should be made in the cold light of reason, not the self-amplifying howl of the partisan fringe.

I am still optimistic about the net effect of the Blogosphere, and when it is grounded in truthful analyses, it promises to be an amazing tool in the service of Freedom. But like any powerful tool, the potential of disaster always exists. If anything, Blogs demand even more responsibility in our exercise of citizenship.

Filed under: The Failing MSM