A friend was arguing that american culture has been visibly fragmenting into distinct identities the last few years. I disagree. Everyone can agree that american *media* is fragmenting. But that is just decentralization of the media revealing existing fragmentation of the public.
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Reading medieval books, you'd think all Europe spoke only Latin. Then Renaissance books would often be in national languages. Did people suddenly stop speaking Latin and become fragmented? No. Printing lowered the barrier to publication and revealed the existing fragmentation.
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In the twentieth century, people started publishing in regional languages. Had fragmentation into patois increased since the Renaissance? Quite the opposite! Public schooling and television decreased it. But even lower barriers to publication revealed the—dwindling—fragmentation.
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In conclusion, the fragmentation of the US media is eminently healthy. It reveals an *existing* fragmentation in US culture, ends the previous monopoly on published thought, allows for a dialogue that was not happening, and is instrumental to any future convergence of minds.
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