Political commentary

Political criticism (also referred to as political commentary or political discussion) is criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government.

There has been controversy over the relevance and importance of political criticism in civilizations, particularly democratic societies.

Advocates argue that political discussion creates and promotes the variety of opinions necessary for a true democracy. The American constitution is often pointed to as support for the belief, ensuring for all peoples under its administration such maxims as free speech.

Critics of this philosophy argue that the general public (and, on a more individual basis, the "Average Joe") lacks the resources and capability to conceive opinions that are educated enough to be taken seriously. Thus, the abundance and fervent promotion of such opinions merely confuses and complicates political matters that, given an appropriate amount of factual education, are either easily understood or should be discussed only by those with sufficient intelligence to do the matter justice.

There are many methods used throughout history of promoting political opinions and with the development of new technologies new ways have materialized both in recent and ancient history. Some of the most common include the following:

Throughout history one of the most influential methods (arguably the most influential method) of promoting political opinions has been literary. This peculiar pattern of books influencing the thinking of the masses, reinstated with such books as the Bible, Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Qur'an, The Diary of a Young Girl, Nineteen Eighty-Four and many others, has been attributed to many of the characteristics of writing. While it has been proven that a well-written book can indeed appeal to one's intellect with reasoning and ideas sprung from common sense, the drive of literature and writing is most commonly considered to be derivative of the emotional impact of the text, guiding people to think a certain way by making them feel a certain way. This often has great political consequences, most particularly when the subject of the emotional reaction is a plea for moral justice, as can be seen (to use America as an example once more) in the aftermath of the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin concerning American views about slavery. It is from this correlation between books and politics that the phrase, "the pen is mightier than the sword", derives.

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