Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

So, one of the most interesting theories about this I've read is Frances FitzGerald's in Cities on a Hill. She argues persuasively that it was the introduction of broadcast TV that caused a serious rupture in national unity and trust. She argues that the US had managed to establish an illusion of American cultural commonality that held together a nation of so many people spread across such a great geographic area. But when broadcast TV started, predominantly in NYC, it, naturally, reflected NYC cultural norms and values, which were quite different than those of, say, Missouri. And the people in Missouri were shocked, "Wait! That's not what it means to be an American! That's nothing like us, and we're what Americans should be like!" And they turned around and started their own TV stations, which is where televangelists come from, and the culture war ignited. With the rupture of trust that we all had a common culture and cultural values, that broadcast TV forced, by betraying the specifics of local culture to a national audience.