Response to Blogging and Mass Politics: Paper 3 - Part 1

     This blog entry is inspired by a quote from Michael Keren's essay, "Blogging and Mass Politics." The article as a whole addresses the relevance of blogging in the modern-day world, as well as blogging's legitimacy and effectiveness to serve as a platform for democratic political discourse. The quotation specifically denies the notion that blogging has the ability to directly alter the actions of politically suppressive regimes. There is an analogy referring to Cervantes' "Don Quixote," where the self-proclaimed knight is fighting an imaginary enemy, he believes that windmills are evil giants, inferring that blogging is similarly ineffective and useless. The quote can be found at the end of this blog entry.
     Throughout history there have been countless horrendous events around the world that have occurred without the knowledge of any individuals outside of the event itself. Mass killings, genocides, wars, and other abominable acts have been easily hidden from public view; entire generations of cultures erased from the history books by suppressive governments and regimes. Yet, we now live in a world where instantaneous, opinionated, and informative worldwide mass communication is more than a possibility for some, it is an essential tool for recognition and survival. Furthermore, the use of blogging allows individuals to share such events with the rest of the world, sometimes even at the risk of losing their lives.
     For example, bloggers in Ukraine are using the internet as a means to express their independent views, and to bring data and images on the human rights violations to the world's attention. Their country is not only on the brink of a civil war, but also being threatened with war with neighboring Russia. If it wasn't for the massive amount of information being shared from within the country itself, it would be nearly impossible to fully grasp the situation in Ukraine. The international community now has access to videos, photos, and personal accounts of the situation and is taking steps to protect the sovereignty Ukraine. This would never have been possible without the use of social media and blogs. The bottom line is: Russia has no right to be intervening in Ukraine. Without the exposure that blogs are providing from with Ukraine, Russia would have the ability to intervene in Ukraine in order to determine a Russian-friendly outcome. Russia would deprive the Ukrainian people the opportunity to sort out their issues for themselves democratically, and the rest of the world would be completely ignorant of Russia's actions, effectively allowing Russia free-reign within Ukraine.
     Although the words of the blogs themselves are insufficient to bring down Russia's "cold" political regime within Ukraine, the blogs do one very important thing; they enlighten the international community. Below you can find links related to the current events in Ukraine. So, to get back to the Don Quixote analogy, even though Don Quixote was fighting an imaginary evil giant, he was indeed still exemplifying chivalry. Indeed, the windmills posed no threat, but the disappearance of chivalry was a very real threat to culture, and Don Quixote had the freedom to express his personal beliefs in a way that exposed the concept of chivalry back to society, and he still has the opportunity to share his values even today, around the world, in 2014.

http://opiniojuris.org/2014/03/10/ukraine-insta-symposium-crimea-ukraine-russia-self-determination-intervention-international-law/

http://www.alternative-right.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/dont-kiev-up-without-fight.html

http://davidduke.com/facts-need-know-crimea-turmoil/

http://www.reddit.com/live/3rgnbke2rai6hen7ciytwcxadi/


 "And as important as words are, they are insufficient in themselves to bring down a determined political regime supported by a ruthless secret police. Thus, while it remains to be seen how effective cyberactivism will be in the future, and how capable it will be in overcoming regime counterattacks involving blocking Websites, flooding the Internet with disinformation, and intimidating street journalists, the expectation that the blogosphere could change the balance of power in favor of the individual in opprssive regimes, and serve as an arena of deliberative politics in democratic ones, is immature... due primarily to its being an endeavor played out in virtual reality. This is why Hewitt's declaration of a 'blitzkrieg' (2) against the mainstream media and traditional politics is reminiscent of Cervantes's melancholic character Don Quixote tilting at windmills, for there is nothing more melancholic than a warrior fighting a virtual war."

Title: Blogging and Mass Politics
Author: Michael Keren