The Medium (The Media) is the Metaphor is the Media is the Medium is the Metaphor

     Hello, all of you out there in ReaderLand! I would like to start my first post by asking how everyone's summer is so far. Good? Good? Okay. Now, there are some things I have noticed about Chapter 1 of Amusing Ourselves to Death. In it, Mr. Postman uses former President William Howard Taft as an example of how TV has affected our mindsets. William Taft was over 300 pounds, but was elected to office because of promises he made and reforms he showed. Postman says "... It is implausible to imagine that anyone like our 27th President... Could be put forward as a presidential candidate in today's world." I would assume that as a President, Mr. Taft put out eloquent speeches and took interviews. People heard and read his words. They didn't necessarily look at the man. Today, however, we have grown superficial and use visuals to get our information adequately. In order to be elected in today's world, Mr. Taft would have to do public events, kiss babies, etc. Today, the superficial Americans that we are would not want to let an obese, multi-chinned man kiss their baby, even if he is important in politics. The point is, television and other visual picture media forms have made us (as a society) superficial beyond belief. If anyone disagrees with this point, drop a comment on it below. Otherwise, thank you for reading and have a good day, my friends.