02.28.2019 - By David Barsamian
Neil Postman in his classic work Amusing Ourselves to Death nailed it when he wrote, “When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.” He wrote that in 1985. Our political life today is like a reality TV show. There is fascination with celebrities from Kanye West to the Kardashians to the former host of The Apprentice. And the soundtrack in the background is permanent war.