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March 9, 2004
In Death Sentence Don Wilson writes:
"There is an argument that goes, as the public realm declines so must the public language. An empty public realm means an empty public language in proportion."
I'm sympathetic to this argument. The public realm declines as Australia increasingly shifts to a free market economy under the pressure of globalization. The public language of politicians becomes increasingly shaped and defined by focus groups, opinion polls and marketing the message.
Rarely do you hear a contemporary politician say now is the time to speak the truth, frankly and boldly. That is not what the media want to hear when they construct an election as a race to the line between two personalities.
And I'm sympathetic to what Watson says next:
"Politics is an argument; it engages the intellect as well as the emotions. When only the emotions (or the prejudices, or the fantasies, or myths and ideology) are engaged, we smell deceit. We think the chances are we're being fooled or short-changed; and if we don't think it, chances are we have been."
And we've been had so often that we citizens now have have built-in spin detectors.
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