Questions for Chapter 12

There have been times in my life when I have felt that rules/laws have exercised an excessive amount of power to try to manage my moral choices. There was a time in high school when I felt as if the government had unfairly judged my behavior by assuming that I was going to be an irresponsible sixteen year old driver and thus implemented the “6 month” law. Although this regulation may not have been a direct reflection of moral character but of statistics I still felt unfairly judged. I’m sure others could agree with me in that circumstance when they could not ride with friends for 6 months after the got their license. Have there ever been instances in your life when you were offended by any laws or rules implemented by a “higher power” that you felt people unfairly assumed your moral character?

In chapter 12 of Persuasion and Influence in American Life, Woodward and Denton state that “a free marketplace of ideas is also vital to the concept of democracy. Diversity of thought and respect for dissent are hallmarks of the values of freedom and justice. When multiple view points are heard and expressed, the common good prevails over private interests” (p. 352). I personally feel that the last line of this statement is very bold and could be strongly argued in today’s society when celebrities’ personal lives are front page news and the general public is eager to follow their lead for trends, I feel as if the common good can be easily over looked. Do you agree, or disagree? Why?

In my Mass Media and Society class, media literacy was a core concept that we discussed extensively. This concept was also introduced briefly in the “Advertising as Persuasion” chapter of Persuasion and Influence in American Life. Media literacy is a term used to describe the act of being critically conscious of the media one consumes. People have to realize that “’news is gathered, written, edited, produced, and disseminated by human beings who are part of organizations and who have beliefs and values… These beliefs, values, functions, and interests are bound to influence the messages these networks publish and broadcast’” (p. 370). I believe that media literacy is seriously overlooked and should be implemented into school curriculums. Do you feel the same? Should school introduce some type of education to make people more aware of what and how they consume media? Why or why not?