I’ve been reading David Brooks since the publication of “Bobos in the Paradise” and I’ve been thoroughly impressed with how he describes American society and our “unique” way of living.
Brooks appears on PBS’ Newshour and is also a NY Times Op Ed Columnist. His latest column is entitled, “Lord of the Memes” and is a must read; here’s an excerpt:
But on or about June 29, 2007, human character changed. That, of course, was the release date of the first iPhone.
On that date, media displaced culture. As commenters on The American Scene blog have pointed out, the means of transmission replaced the content of culture as the center of historical excitement and as the marker of social status.
Think about what Brooks just said, viz., that the “means of transmission” (say, the iPhone or a Facebook page) has “replaced the content of culture” (say, a piece of classical music or a novel); this is a significant and scary shift!
Finally, here’s a brief bio from the PBS web site.
