Gronbeck: Citizen Voices

There were a few points he made, which he summarized and quickly moved on from, which I wish he would he explored a little more.  For example, when he wrote that, “…even as some beat the drum to organize peoples’ marches, actual political activity in the execute and legislative halls seemed more influenced by the numbered voices of the printout than the bull-horned voices of the streets” (23). This point was one in a list of points that he would have made if he had more space.  I personally think it is an interesting one worth contemplating and wish he would have spent more than three sentences on it.  What is he basing this idea on?  Is that meant as a segue into the idea of cyber politics?  His concept intrigued me and then left me unsatisfied.

I have to agree with his later point that a citizen’s building of political identity is just as much a part of civic engagement as attempting legistlative change.  And when a citizen is a critically thinking, he or she can definitely successfully piece together a political identity by taking advantage of internet sources.  A danger does lie, though, in the fact that many internet users may not be aware of the different angles website creators are coming from and may not be able to see past that to use their own experiences to compare and contrast.  Personally, I have a problem with believing too much that I read or hear and therefore must be extremely careful processing information before I go voicing my opinion. It’s true, though, that the internet is certainly not the only place where one must be careful to analyze and criticize sources.  It’s certainly one of the more easily accessible and extensive places.  When armed with the right tools, I think it’s definitely a beautiful place of opportunity for many of the reasons Gronbeck listed in his essay.

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