According to the venerable Pew Research Center, an “examination of the 13 cable and radio talk shows in [their] News Coverage Index found that 59% of their airtime last week was devoted to the health care debate.” As Pew points out, talk shows “include the debate-oriented programming that hammers away on polarizing issues.” What this means in English is that these shows are trying to influence listeners’ opinions.
With the Congressional town hall meetings focusing on the health care debate in mind, I offer this 1950′s Coronet Educational Film entitled ” Public Opinion in Our Democracy.” The issue in this film is whether a small city should have a government-run or privately-run public transportation system. I love how this film from 60 years ago echos some of the same conversations we are having today–the importance of being heard and how people develop their opinions.
Unfortunately, this is not a complete film. The person posting it on You Tube put up the highlights in hopes of selling the full copy on eBay. Additionally, every so often, the owner of the film sends a watermark across the screen. I tried to find a clean copy but was unable to do so. Despite the viewing issues, I think it is worth watching this film.
Enjoy!
PS: Just after I posted this message, I read that the Senate has dropped the end-of-life provision (the widely debunked “death panel”) from its version of the bill. While I disagree with their move–I have a Advance Health Directive that indicates my wishes should I become incapacitated (and I mailed copies of it to EVERY member of my family and my doctor so that there is no disagreement about “what I would want”)–I think this change in the provision is an example of public opinion in our democracy.
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