Assault On Reason
by Brian Lynch

Al Gore's book, "Assault on Reason," is a tome so full of idiocy, fallacy and sophism that it's hard to decide whether it should be reviewed as simple ravings or simply be tossed in the rubbish and ignored.

In a nutshell, the book's thesis is this:

1) Al Gore believes that American democracy is in dire peril because he and his liberal friends have not been able to force their agendas through the political systems for the past 25 years. He states, "American democracy is now in danger-not from any one set of ideas, but from unprecedented changes in the environment within which ideas either live and spread, or wither and die." In the 'marketplace of ideas, Gore believes that it is simply no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public discourse. "I know I am not alone in feeling that something has gone fundamentally wrong", he writes.

2) Al Gore believes that everything is OK, because the internet (which he no longer claims to have invented) is democratizing information and opportunities for everyone. He states that broadband interconnections are supporting decentralized processes that reinvigorate democracy. We can see it happening before our eyes: As a society, we are getting smarter.

3) Despite his confidence in the power of broadband internet, Al Gore has an impression of telecommunications generally that borders on outright paranoia. He says that TV is manipulating mass opinions and feelings. Methods initially discovered by commercial advertisers are now being even more aggressively exploited by a new generation of media Machiavelli's, states Gore.

"Sophisticated public opinion sampling techniques and the increasing use of powerful computers to parse and subdivide the American people according to psychographic categories that identify their susceptibility to individually tailored appeals has further magnified the power of propagandistic electronic messaging. that has created a harsh new reality for the functioning of our democracy."

Well which is it? Are the communications media remotely manipulating everyone through the use of sophisticated mind control techniques, or are the media democratizing the market places of ideas?

So, American democracy is in danger of being destroyed because something has gone fundamentally wrong in the marketplace of ideas, but don't worry, use of broadband internet will solve everything. Or maybe not.

It's a good thing that the electoral system worked in 2000 to keep a man as muddled, confused and paranoid as Al Gore out of the White House. Let's hope that the nation's electoral system continues to function so well.