Economic Versus Political Values And Equal Opportunity

By Author: Amandda
Total Articles: 60
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Ads for products argue that buying is a good thing; ads for politicians argue that voting is good. Ads for products assume that purchasing products makes us as individuals happier. Ads for political candidates assume that involvement in the political process makes the world a better place. In the world of political ads, the system works. Ads do not argue for overthrow of those diey oppose but for action within the system—voting. In political ads, problems exist but can be solved. Incumbents tell us that they have worked to solve the problems and have actually produced Tag Heuer Replica solutions. Those out of office point to problems that remain unsolved and offer solutions. Both types of ads affirm that problems are manageable and ought to be addressed from within the system by voting for one candidate or another. In ads for products, problems exist, but these problems, too, are solvable. Here the solution is found not in voting but in purchasing.

Both political ads and ads for manufactured products affirm that we are able to function as agents of ...
... change. We can buy the product that produces the whiter smile. We can vote for the politician who will turn the economy around. Consequently, both types of ads are fundamentally optimistic. Their outlook is positive.

Suppose, instead, that the world is filled with unsolvable problems. Suppose, for ex-ample, that wars are not winnable, that the federal deficit is intractable, that we are plagued by problems that do not lend themselves to political solutions within the sys-tem. If all this is true, then why should we worry about which candidate ought to be elected? All are equally powerless. Political ads must affirm that we can be agents of change, that voting causes change, that politicians in office can make a difference, and that problems are solvable. In the process of affirming these premises, political ads reinforce our belief in our political system.

If stations could effectively deny airwave access to candidates they opposed, or provide blocks of free time to candidates they supported with no responsibility to other candidates, the broadcast media would become dominant power brokers in the political arena. The Federal Communications Act guarantees that broadcasters who open their facilities to one legally qualified candidate must give equal Omega Replica Watches opportunities to the other legally qualified candidates. To be legally qualified, a candidate must have announced for the office and must have met the legal requirements asked of those seeking the office. Thus, if one candidate is given five minutes of time at no charge, then other legally qualified candidates for the same office must also be given five minutes of equivalent time each. If one candidate has been permitted to buy time on a station, all other legally qualified candidates for the same office also must be permitted to buy time. The equal opportunity provision does not mean that a station must give all candidates free time if one candidate has purchased time; a purchase simply entitles other candidates to purchase equivalent time.