Why Is Political Advertising Good For American Democracy

Do you think that political advertising is good for American democracy?

My first instinct would be to say yes, I think political advertising is good for American democracy in order that people may get to know the issues and what the candidates stand for. However, on the heels of that instinctive answer is my personal mistrust for all political ads. I have come to believe that politicians and their political ads are geared to sell themselves for the vote. Watching this Frontline video presentation was indeed an eye opener. A very scary eye opener. The most concerning matter was the information that both the Republican and Democratic political parties alike use marketing lists to target their messages to what each community, demographic,

ethnic group, etc. want to hear. As pointed out in the video, this idea of specifically targeting individual’s needs and wants, based on the personal information gleaned from companies such as Axiom, has the very real potential of blinding people to the common good…what’s best for the whole group or society, not just ourselves. Targeted political adverting or “narrow casting” give people a narrow view, adding blinders to the needs of society as a whole. Thus, my answer is no, I do not believe that political advertising is good for American democracy. America’s news agencies need to go back to reporting just the facts. No more biased, left or right wing reporting. No more spending millions of dollars on emotionally charged political advertising weighted by narrow casting and language which “obscures the issues.” American democracy can only thrive when we keep its citizens informed and think about the good “of the people,” not just Buffy—myself.