Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, yesterday attacked aspects of "the media" in terms all people of sense will want to support (assuming they can understand the nature of the charges the Archbishop is making), and which may well spark off a great revival of the Church of England.
The Archbishop seemed especially agitated by "the media's" manipulation of debate to distort and mislead public understanding. Complex arguments, the Archbishop reckons, are being debased for purposes of vulgar entertainment.
He is also exercised by the socio-economic origins of those who choose to work in "the media", presumably worried that the famous "left-wing bias" of the typical media worker may corrupt our worldview.
And he offers some interesting speculations concerning the broader picture:
Corrupt speech, inflaming unexamined emotion, reinforcing division, wrapped up in its own performance, leaves us less human: fewer things are possible for us. Bad human communication leaves us less room to grow.
In short, if we have read him right, the Archbishop believes that "the media" dehumanises us all. "Bad human communication," as he says, is indeed the root of much evil in this fallen world. Maybe the Archbishop is also right to warn us that it "leaves us less room to grow" -although this sounds a bit wimpish - our growth as humans isn't really predicated on the quality of the media we consume.
Barring a few quibbles with the logic and the overall argument, this is just what the blog has always believed. The brutish populism spawning all around us is a potent force for evil. It is high time "the media" which promotes it, and the inarticulate oafs who pontificate on it, were rebuked, brought face to face with the consequences of their sins, and compelled to cultivate an elegant and seemly eloquence. How grand to have one's deepest prejudices confirmed by such a distinguished Man of God.
MediaGuardian.co.uk Media Archbishop attacks 'lethal' media
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