Understanding knowledge

Based off the class discussion and the readings for class, public life should have more contribution and more desire to inform others and educate others on the knowledge of events and news within society. While this should be true, public life seems to be more interested in celebrity life and news of meaningless information such as new gadgets, new fashion accessories, or other items lacking intelligent stimulation and thus deteriorating the public sphere, or what the public sphere is meant to be an outlet for. The public sphere should be used to educate others on the current news with political parties, or global crises, not superfluous events, but instead public life seems to be more concerned with following celebrities, their new fashion trends, and of course the growing need for new gadgets introduced to the public.  These issues, consuming our public life, are deteriorating the main use of the public sphere, and the responsibility and ownership our public should take on understanding global society and American issues.  Also, after reading some of the chapters for this upcoming class, the lack of accountability among the public intellectuals, who share their knowledge with the public, makes it hard for the public sphere to exist.  Public intellectuals should be held accountable for the information being shared, and display this information for all to take part in and evaluate based off their knowledge and understanding of the subject.  This ability to interact, debate, and counteract with individuals is what the public sphere was meant to initiate.  The discussion amongst individuals is necessary and helps to form a better understanding, and different views, of major events within the American society as well as globally. I believe individuals in society need to start becoming more involved with the media and the information regarding not only our political debates, but also that of our international cultures, and become more aware of the world.  If we can become more interactive with the media and the news within society, we can formulate the public sphere back to what it was intended for, and have more discussion based interactions with other people, thus forming a better understanding of the knowledge around certain topics that some people may specialize in over those topics we understand in greater depth.