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Parsing the President’s words – this sounds dumb to me

by YankeeJim | May 11, 2010 at 12:57 pm

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I really could not believe what I was reading. First, it is news reported by Fox, so I am skeptical. Yet, then it is a direct quotation from President Obama, so this requires serious evaluation.

“Information becomes a distraction, a diversion,” Obama reportedly said.

Well, yes, information in all its various forms and from its many sources can become distracting. It can be a diversion. It can also be noise. A better message for the President on this subject, I think, is to say that one must learn to parse information carefully by 1) evaluating the source, 2) evaluating the message for accuracy, completeness, bias, fact, fiction, and folklore.

One might try to assess their personal capacity and bandwidth for attending information. That might begin with time slot and channel management. Given that we are all so busy attending the important things in life and have limited time to decipher information, we should take time to deliberately plan our communications.

Is it realistic to tell our youth that they should shut down their cell phones and iPods; that they had better be more attentive at screening their messages because that’s what “big brother” is telling you from the White House. Hey, come on.

For his remarks at Hampton University, I think the journalism department should mount a campaign to revoke his honorary degree from the institution.

“While knowledge is power, the information age could be too much of a good thing. That's the message some heard in President Obama's weekend commencement speech in which he bemoaned

Speaking at Hampton University in Virginia, the president raised alarms when he said "information becomes a distraction, a diversion" that is putting "pressure on our country and on our democracy."

The president suggested less is more when it comes to absorbing news content and urged graduates to take a skeptical eye toward news from blogs, cable television and radio as well as modern gadgets like iPods and PlayStations.

The class of 2010 is "coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter," the president said, earning an honorary doctorate of laws degree during the ceremony.

"And with iPods and iPads; and Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- (laughter) -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy," he said.”

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YankeeJim

at 13:06 on May 11th, 2010

You are watching too much television!

Onthecarousel

at 20:42 on May 11th, 2010

I certainly agree with your interpretation of information. We came across so much information that we are drown in the sea of irrelevance. Think Facebook status feed, think tweeter. But we are fortunate to have that in north America!
A recent article I read about in Hong Kong, tells me that even the smallest bloggers in China fails to have the complete freedom in what they wanted to say. One second you posted something politically sensitive; the other second, your account is blocked. Same thing in North Korea, here is another article I've read: http://www.stockthewarehouse.org/popping-culture-lifestyle/the-grassy-knoll/535-north-vs-south-korea-you-sank-my-battle-ship.html

VioletPlanet

at 21:41 on May 11th, 2010

And while they're at it...the FAIR DOCTRINE ACT should be reinstated. It mandated objective journalism. Objective journalism no longer exists.... or should I say barely.

YankeeJim

at 04:26 on May 12th, 2010

My heroine appears again. I fell onto my sword a thousand times for VP's freedom and eventually had to crawl away from the censors at MIXX. NowPublic is fresh air, though it is a little rocky behind the scenes, I think.