In his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman argues that
             America is moving from a print based culture to a video based culture.
             Postman notes that text based media force the reader to learn and consider
             information, while video is primarily a visual and entertaining medium.
             Further, he argues that this movement to a video-based culture has reduced
             public and political discourse to a form of entertainment. While Postman's
             analysis is largely convincing, he fails to provide meaningful solutions to
             the problems he notes, and his analysis often goes too far. Postman does
             not seem to give Americans enough credit for being aware and cynical
             observers of visual media. In addition, his claims can be countered by
             arguing that more Americans than ever before are literate, and that reading
             is a common, everyday activity. Postman further fails to note the
             importance of the Internet, which contains large amounts of text, thus
             damaging Postman's assertion that America is moving from a print based
             Postman's arguments are generally thought-provoking and seemingly
             valid. He argues that in earlier generations, Americans were raised with
             the written word. From colonial pamphlets on political issues to the
             publication of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, American political discourse
             took place in the context of the written word. Reading makes the reader
             slow down and consider arguments and compose thoughts in an organized and
             With the growing popularity of television and video, Postman argues
             that the constant desire for entertainment is beginning to obliterate
             reasoned public discourse. He blames the appearance of visual media that
             focus on entertainment for the "dissolution of public discourse and its
             conversion into the arts of show business" (5).
             Postman gives concrete examples that show that this visual emphasis
             in our culture has a serious impact on politics. Spec...