Blog Brother

The blogosphere is free speech and free press made real. So much is said about a monolithic crowd called "bloggers" and "the blogosphere," that one would think it was as regimented and uniform as the MSM. The thing is, that's like saying "the people" are some ominous, dangerous power that shouldn't be trusted. The election was won by a narrow margin. A lot of people, including a lot of bloggers, hate George Bush.

Yet, critics from the world of journalism keep insisting that bloggers must be unreliable because we are "unedited" and comparing us to a lynch mob, a crowd of drooling morons. If they really believe in the First Amendment, and that news reporting is a search for truth, why are they so anxious to rid themselves of these meddlesome amateurs?

I have been impressed by the difference between today's press and that of the time the Bill of Rights was enacted. Papers in those days were a lot like bloggers. They attacked politicians and each other with gusto. The readers were required to read the news with some skepticism and consider a range of arguments. That atmosphere disappeared some time ago. and Bloggers aren't going away, and the writhing of journalists really proves how sorely they have needed someone to hold them accountable.