LETTER: Political talk has gone downhill

Editor,

It was with great interest that I read Scott Dewey’s letter (Letters, Oct. 25) on pluralism, the First Amendment and the recent Michael Moore controversy at UVSC. Dewey railed on Moore as a demogouge, yet in the same letter refers to Moore and those like-minded with the pejorative term “complete idiots.” Ironically, the discourse in Dewey’s letter is different in conclusions than Moore, but the same in cursory methodology.

Political discourse in America has degenerated to superficial entertainment. Information and discourse is over-simplified on radio and television talk shows. This information is presented by competing media entities seeking to provide entertainment that can be grasped by the masses with little effort. Media outlets have fragmented and are, in essence, competing to provide the simplest, easiest and most entertaining political concepts to grasp. In this race to the bottom the truth, and legitimate discourse on both the right and the left, are lost. Both sides demonize the other – accusing the other of lacking any intellectual integrity and deliberately trying to ruin America. It is tragic that one would ever question the sincerity of someone simply because of divergent political philosophies. These types of pundits such as Moore, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are to political discourse and philosophy what Britney Spears is to music: shallow, superficial and sugary .

Tom Grover