"Television has made dictatorship impossible but democracy unbearable"

Television, as Shimon Peres suggests, is a force that shapes the very nature of political systems and public experience. Dictatorships rely on control of information, the suppression of dissent, and a tightly orchestrated narrative. With the advent of television, the ability to conceal oppression, stage-manage appearances, and hide inconvenient truths is greatly diminished. The camera’s omnipresence and its power to broadcast images, protests, or state brutality make the naked exercise of autocratic power difficult to sustain. The public can see, in their living rooms, realities that otherwise would be hidden. This exposure acts as a deterrent to many forms of outright dictatorship. The media, particularly television, becomes a watchdog, and dissent can find a platform much harder to silence.

Yet, the other edge of the sword is that television also transforms the democratic experience. The immediacy and sensationalism of televised media often favor the dramatic over the nuanced, the emotional appeal over careful reasoning. Political discourse becomes performance, and leaders feel compelled to play to the cameras, often oversimplifying complex issues to fit brief, captivating soundbites. Public opinion, now shaped instantaneously by powerful images and catchphrases, becomes volatile, easily swayed by the last televised scandal, gaffe, or tragic event. The depth and patience required for genuine democratic deliberation are eroded in a culture of constant broadcast, where attention spans shrink and partisanship is stoked by polarizing coverage.

Citizens may feel overwhelmed by the relentless torrent of often contradictory news, breeding cynicism, fatigue, or even alienation from democratic processes. Debates become spectacles, elections popularity contests judged by the optics of televised debates rather than the substance of policy. As a result, while television helps keep authoritarianism at bay, it can also make democratic engagement shallow, exhausting, and emotionally charged for both leaders and the public, challenging the very virtues that make democracy meaningful.