The beauty of the Internet is that it offers an uncensored window into the thoughts of regular folks. No matter how abhorrent or illogical, it is a virtue to study these depths of the human mind. Here, we can understand what drives votes better than any opinion poll or focus group. There exists an unrivaled freedom in anonymity.
At an Associated Collegiate Press convention I attended in Minneapolis last weekend, a keynote speaker said online editions of newspapers and blogs should not allow anonymous comments. When she asked for our thoughts, I said that it is not our place to decide the correct way for readers to approach a debate. Following a testy exchange, I wondered if she might be right — that online feedback doesn't add to rational or reasonable debate. I wondered what anonymous comments might add to discourse.
Needless to say, I quickly came to my senses. An editorial section shouldn't be in the business of censoring the thoughts of the population it serves. Further, I don't have the wisdom to determine what comments are unreasonable beyond those calling a writer's mugshot ugly or spreading racist propaganda. Isn't it more important to find the deep-seated prejudices that drive some voters than to know whether they are willing to put a name behind their ideas? Like our managing editor, Mike Gendall, said after the incident, comments left anonymously are naturally taken with a grain of salt, and signing a name instantly lends an opinion more credibility. This is something for the readers to sort out — not for editors to micro-manage. That is why I am proud of badgerherald.com and its capacity to facilitate discussion, no matter how bizarre.
We employ writers to give the paper a personality, and we choose letters to the editor with loose standards. The Internet can make newspapers stronger by giving the community a sounding board mediated only by the most basic sense of decency and the agenda-setting capacity of our well-researched staffers. This, and not the potential for corporate growth, makes the Internet such a revolutionary force. The Internet streamlines the power of the marketplace of ideas.
Sadly, the marketplace of ideas has come under attack in the halls of our own Congress from some Republicans who claim that open debate about U.S. policy in Iraq comforts terrorists. They echo the claims of Australian Prime minister John Howard, who suggests presidential candidate Barack Obama is a friend of al-Qaida. Some cowards in the government fail to realize that all we have is our discourse and that the right to free debate is a guarantee all Americans should be willing to defend.
On a fundamental level, it is more important to maintain our national integrity than put on a charade for terrorist organizations and blindly follow this administration's misguided policy.
Most distressing is how far this logic might extend. Do we really want to facilitate the rise of a totalitarian state by insisting democracy create the farce of a united front against its enemies? In my eyes, these are the truly unpatriotic Americans. What happened to the clarion call of liberty or death? Aren't the ideals of our nation worth this much, or have we lost them due to the fickle allure of partisan politics?
All the while, our media continues to be distracted by sideshows like Anna Nicole Smith. With genocide in Africa, a war in Iraq, traveling presidential candidates, airline passengers stranded for nearly a week, a terrorist bombing in India and continued hostage crises in Nigeria, live coverage of an Anna Nicole paternity hearing dominated Fox News and MSNBC. Nonstop coverage of a D-list actress' death on MSNBC — "the network for politics" — forces me, along with thousands of other viewers to turn the TV off in disgust. Cable news does have its bright spots, but is usually dominated by tabloid fare and daytime anchors whose interviewing skills are rivaled only by deaf, domesticated parrots.
Our national dialogue is struggling, to say the least. The negligent public figures who politicize the foundations of our democracy combined with an easily distracted media equate to little progress for this nation. Nonetheless, tomorrow morning I will turn on the TV once again and approve dozens of anonymous Web comments. In the end, optimists always win the day.
Bassey Etim ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and journalism.
