Steve Fogle's Feature

Steve Fogle's Feature The Internet Past 40: Too Many Voices or Just Not Enough Good Ones?

As we welcome the 41st year of the Internet, the bottomless sea of information inundates our minds like never before. We now have the capability and, it seems, the innate desire to gather, analyze and ingest information at breakneck speed. It is not unusual to be texting, emailing, phoning and listening to the iPod all at once. It's as if we must multitask, simply because we can. So with all this going on, some ask: is there such a thing as too much information available, too many ways for individuals to post and blog their innermost thoughts, and are we being swamped by poor, mediocre or just plain bad speech?

Undoubtedly, we have predicated our system of government and many aspects of our society on the belief that the best argument against a bad argument is a better argument. That poor, misguided or bad speech is best countered by well-reasoned and thoroughly researched good speech. The Internet, along with all the advances in digital technology, has allowed us to advance our society in ways we couldn't imagine 40 years ago. It is just as roundly criticized for the substance of its existence: the endless chatter of information available "24-7" in what can be seen as an endless cacophony of sounds, videos, blogs, postings, etc.

Yet, it's not the existence of the World Wide Web or the Internet that poses the problem, but how we, individually and as a society, use it. A knife can cut a man's throat or slice open an apple. The Internet is just the latest tool. A tool in our hands, to be used wisely and for positive change, or foolishly and for wallowing in negativity because it's easier and momentarily more entertaining. When the printing press, telegraph, radio and television came on the scene, they stretched our boundaries with new opportunities for speech that had to be tested, revised and improved. Each was a quantum leap in the ability for speech of all sorts to reach more people. Each, in their day, was seen as having unlimited potential for good or bad. And yet, in each instance, the voices of reason and positive growth refused to cede the medium to those who would use it solely to destroy ideas or others. Just as with those older technologies, as the Internet expands the ability of all voices to be heard, we have to guard against allowing the speed of technology to replace the sureness that comes with disciplined, careful study. If we lose sight of that goal, then how the population gets their information won't matter. Printed papers, television newscasts or Internet blogs – it will be mediocre oatmeal, pandering to the lowest common denominator and not worth the millisecond it takes to download.

One of the disappointing parts of the Internet, so far, is the number of sites or blogs with no apparent purpose other than tearing others down. That our Constitution allows such speech is not questioned. Those with a better argument, a more positive idea, a better way to spread the messages of hope and promise have the same platform. As with each new technology of the past, these voices need to use the technology to step up and be heard. What appears to be lacking, hopefully just for now, are web sites or blogs which take on those whose personal or political venom gain traction only because it is entertaining, perhaps just for the shock value of it all. One byproduct of exposure to so much information is the insensitivity it can breed to individual suffering brought on by human indifference or hate. To combat the ideas of hate, bigotry and prejudice, those who believe in equality of opportunity and inclusion need to be as vociferous, if not more, than the fringe groups whose bile is too apparent and accessible. If not, our society may become the worst part of ourselves, simply because we did nothing to speak up against it. You could ask the Romans, but having lost sight of the importance of sustaining the positive growth of a balanced society, they lost the world.

It's always easier to avoid conflict, especially when it doesn't immediately affect us, our family or friends. That aspect of human nature is probably a good thing for our blood pressure, but it can also strangle our nation's potential for growth. Our history is rich with examples of those who took on the unpopular cause, addressed injustice and strove mightily for the common good. Not just the founders, but those who accepted the responsibility for nurturing the best ideals and ideas of our society despite the individual or collective peril. Each of us has that responsibility as the counterpart to the blessings of being an American, whether by birth or choice.

Those of us who are privileged to work in or with the media have both the increased opportunity and obligation to help provide that positive, carefully studied voice. It is one of the bedrock foundations our country rests upon and why many of you believe this is more than just a job, but a calling. As we enter the second 40 years of the Internet, it's up to all of us to ensure that the voices of hope, positive thinking, and freedom of thought flourish so that they eventually drown out the noise of poor, mediocre or destructive speech on the street corner, on the television, in the written text and now, on the ethereal pathways of the World Wide Web.

— Steve Fogle is a partner at Jackson Walker. He can be reached at sfogle@jw.com.