This inarticulate mumbo jumbo comes as the result of a cultural shift from the printed word to the spoken word. The generations of Americans who learned speech as a result of reading speak with greater articulation than those who learned by listening to others speak, especially on television. Another consequence of social change especially pronounced among young people is an uncritical acceptance of commercialism and commercial values. Commercialism constitutes an attack on the psychological well-being. A commercial is designed to make you feel uneasy or awkward about your skin, your feet, the airline that you fly or the car you drive.
Advertising also represents an assault on communal values.
We teach our young people to value their worth by counting how many toys they have. Commercialism is a real assault on the value of political discourse. Dialogue is now limited, according to a study done by The New York Times , to 8.8 seconds per sound byte. Neither Bill Clinton nor Bob Dole is able to articulate anything relevant to America's debilitating social problems in 10 seconds, but that's what we're going to be given this fall. After 17 years in the Emory community, I am convinced that Emory University, and Oxford College in particular, are positioned to recognize these issues and do something about them.