In America They Have Not Heard about Electoral Silence

In Anglo-Saxon countries, electoral silence is a completely unknown phenomenon. There is even no generally accepted and established term to define it in the English language. If someone tried to impose electoral silence in America, they would be inevitably treated as a creature from outer space. At once the general alarm among both left-wing and right-wing politicians would be raised that there has been an attack on the sacred First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which provides citizens with complete freedom of speech.

It’s not just a case of principles, but also of deeply rooted local customs. American political life is much livelier, more colorful and more brutal than its Polish counterpart. Basically, the debate continues here around the clock, every day; every attempt to reduce it would be considered madness. The various groups or organizations trying to push their ideas on a daily basis — even beyond the time of an election campaign — buy infomercial-length time on TV. The infomercials are often extremely violent and suggestive.

This past summer, politicians in Washington were debating how to reduce the huge debt in the Treasury. They came up with an idea for reform that probably means a cutoff in the pension system. On various television channels, an ad clip appeared repeatedly with three emaciated and angry pensioners who demand an explanation. They ask a senator and congresswoman if it’s true that they want to cut off their pensions. The pensioners do not know what it means and demand an explanation from politicians to voters in their district. They persuade others who think similarly to ask their senator about the issue.

In the age of the Internet, the idea of electoral silence seems even more bizarre; moreover, it seems to be borrowed from a previous and ancient era. Sent to the Internet on Friday before midnight, various comments, articles and election surveys do not disappear on Saturday and Sunday (usually when voting takes place). So why would websites be privileged at the expense of paper newspapers and television, which on Saturday and Sunday must remain silent on the elections?

Even if electoral silence were introduced to America by some miracle, it would become a “dead” regulation. Internet users are no longer passive as in the first years of the global network, when they only read articles, analyses, commentaries and polls. Today, they have become active and have been fiercely discussing and writing comments. They form the Internet. Inquisitive American bloggers — progressive, liberal, conservative, libertarian and others — have become the providers, not consumers, of news. Increasingly, professional journalists and newspapers gain knowledge and draw inspiration from the Internet, and not vice versa. Halting the spread of discussions of thousands of bloggers who are interested in politics is unrealistic.

The boundaries between amateur bloggers and professional journalists in America are being blurred at a frantic pace. Journalists have been writing blogs, while bloggers have become stars and TV and radio commentators. So the idea of not imposing electoral silence on bloggers but enforcing it on well-known newspaper journalists and radio and television would be totally bizarre.