Saturday, June 20, 2009

Political Voyeurism

I can't help it. I'm glued to the TV, switching between channels to catch the latest installment of a captivating reality show. Only it's not about some spoiled celebrity or a family with a gazillion kids, it's the gripping struggle of the Iranian people to make their voices heard. As the violence escalates and the stakes grow ever higher, we get up to the minute reports from ... where? Twitter, of all places. I search #IranElection and the updates are coming so fast -- up to 50 every few seconds -- and I realize we live in a changed world.
Over the last few years we've morphed into the soundbyte generation. That byte was just pared down to 140 characters. I wonder where those soundbytes will take them. I hope, to the freedom everyone deserves.

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