“You” Came From Brian Williams’ Brain

Brian Williams should get some credit for You. After all, he was the one to nominate “you” at Time’s Person of the Year luncheon last month, and now it’s on the cover of the magazine.

On Nov. 14, Williams blogged: “My nominee was… YOU. The cover, as I see it, should say: YOU. Because after all, it’s ALL ABOUT YOU. As I then went on to explain, my point is this: it’s about how our obsession with self could end up tearing us apart.” Here’s his full explanation.

Williams has an essay in the magazine, titled “Enough About You,” explaining his theory. He asks: “Does it endanger what passes for the national conversation if we’re all talking at once? What if ‘talking’ means typing on a laptop, but the audience is too distracted to pay attention? The whole notion of ‘media’ is now much more democratic, but what will the effect be on democracy?” More…