] The content available online is much less important than
] the manner in which it is delivered, indeed, the way the
] Web is structured. Its influence is structural rather
] than informational, and its structure is agnostic. For
] that reason, parental controls of the sort that AOL can
] offer gives no comfort to conservatives. It's not that
] Johnny will Google "hardcore" or "T&A" rather than
] "family values;" rather, it's that Johnny will come to
] think, consciously or not, of everything he reads as
] linked, associative and contingent. He will be
] disinclined to accept the authority of any text, whether
] religious, political or artistic, since he has learned
] that there is no such thing as the last word, or indeed
] even a series of words that do not link, in some way, to
] some other text or game. For those who grow up reading
] online, reading will come to seem a game, one that
] endlessly plays out in unlimited directions. The web, in
] providing link after associative link, commentary upon
] every picture and paragraph, allows, indeed requires,
] users to engage in a postmodernist inquiry.

The media is the message.

Ryan: That's a really interesting notion. I can only hope that it is true. The world could use a little more cynicism and a critical eye. I would love it if people could see moral relativism at least as it can be applied in some places rather than others. Perhaps I will save a more coherent rant on this piece for my own blog.....

CTHEORY.NET : Why the Web Will Win the Culture Wars for the Left by Peter Lurie