Power of Political Sound-Bites

Tune in to “Be Bold America!” Sunday, October 13 at 5:00pm on KSQD 90.7FM

What does it do to democracy when the President of the United States uses political sound-bites to capture the country’s attention such as “coup” and “civil war?”

In our overwhelming news-culture, a short clip of speech that typifies a lengthier concept is increasingly employed by politicians to summarize their positions and/or label opponents and ideas whether true or not. In the past few years, this strategy has been increasingly exploited. With the current impeachment inquiry and the upcoming presidential election, the war of sound-bites will become deafening.

In the political uproar, the truth might not win out over the shortest and most clever sound-bite. The American attention span is very short. There are no truth-in-advertising laws for political ads and political ads employ short narratives to convince listeners of agendas that may not be to their benefit. Yet, we have the tools to become well-informed. We have minds that can hold competing thoughts in our heads until we do our research. Then, why do so many people fall for the bumper sticker sound-bite?

Interview Guest:
Carl Petersen has been a political activist and has run for elected office. He is a father of five with two on the autism spectrum, and is a special education advocate. He is an extensive writer whose articles have been published in OpEdNews (“Losing the Sound-Bite War”), K-12 News Network (“Education for Sale”), and Medium (“Universal Acceptance”).