Intro to "Amusing" (Media and Government)

One thing that I found interesting in reading the intoruduction to "Amusing Ourselves to Death" was that Andrew Postman said that some college kids felt that they had to "defend their culture" and were almost offended by Neil Postman's "assault on television" (pg. xi). I thought this was a very interesting concept. Maybe these students did realize that television and other forms of media and entertainment are dumbing down our society. Maybe they realized that they are not as informed as they should be. Are they defending their culture because they know that Postman was correct in his assertion? I, personally, don't feel the need to defend my culture. I am not proud of the culture and society in which I live. I see and, for the most part agree with, Postman's point: That our society is being overwhelmed by media and technology as well as info-tainment to the point. I think this has caused some of my and most of the next generation to be consumed by entertainment.

I also liked the section where Andrew Postman talked about how, with society changing, communities are at the same time building and collapsing. But, at what cost and at what reward are things things happening? Do certain communities need to collapse, so that others can replace them? Maybe. But, who says that the new community is better than the old one? What are the trade offs?

After reading this introduction, I really want to read the book "Brave New World" and "1984." I found Andrew Postman's contrast between Orwell's "1984" and Huxley's "Brave New World" to be fascinating. I believe, at this point, I agree with Huxley's interpretation.

So, um, here's a quote I love:
“It is not always good enough to continue to hear your voice. You must endeavor to hear the voices of other people, what other people think about you.” -J.O.J. Nwachukwa-Agbada, Nigerian poet and scholar