#1. The “Everything I see on TV is a Lie and Distraction” Crowd
Believing the media is nothing more than programming and that television in its whole is a distraction, again ignores the impossibility of controlling such a large, diverse industry. It also ignores profit motive, which libertarians know is what really drives the world.
Media is an echo chamber. They chase ratings and advertising dollars. That is it. If Americans all decided that pink ponies were awesome, tomorrow they would be all over the TV. That’s it, it’s that simple. No, Bill O’Reilly isn’t really trying to convince you of anything, he’s preaching to the choir. That’s what pundits do, they give the audience what it wants, and otherwise they have no audience.
And entertainment isn’t a grand conspiracy to dumb people down. People always have liked entertainment. From gladiators to Shakespeare to modern TV, people enjoy being entertained and will pay money for the pleasure. This is as old as humanity itself. Profit motive encourages networks to design better and better entertainment. People enjoy it and there is nothing wrong with that.
In a free society, free expression, profit motive, and the pursuit of happiness produce lots of popular culture. It’s a good thing! Saying all we should only be concerned with matters of the state is very Stalinesque. Freedom means people will enjoy themselves in different ways. It doesn’t make them a “sheep.”
