The Devil Made Me Do It
Was thinking about Tao's post this morning, and I tend to agree. It's not just the specifics, about video games or gun control or fast food that makes people crazy, but a flaw in our whole orientation.
Media often looks for the singular cause of a particular behavior. Exciting stories polarize issues, portrays them as black and white to incite maximum emotion. And emotion sells copy, spin sells copy, not raw information (whatever that might be.) But behind the economics of attention lies an insidious assumption, in most cases: that we are robots. If drugs, guns, violent games are available ---then they will push our buttons and we have no responsibility for our actions. So we rally for a course of action that will sanitize our environment, so nothing can push these buttons. We seem to be tacking towards a society where an individual is not empowered to make any decision which could affect their own safety, or the safety of the group. We are plundering and exchanging our freedoms, like our natural resources, for promises of comfort and security. The implicit assumption in all this is seldom questioned, but I often wonder just where this sanitation eventually leads us? What Brave New World do we envision as the final outcome?
I don't know. But for the first time in history I think I'm actually registering to vote. Mainly because it's the first time someone running for office actually had a vision worth supporting. Grandpa Gravel for president(!) :-) (oooh, I did it now :-)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1KyFRyxZp-s
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqA
Media often looks for the singular cause of a particular behavior. Exciting stories polarize issues, portrays them as black and white to incite maximum emotion. And emotion sells copy, spin sells copy, not raw information (whatever that might be.) But behind the economics of attention lies an insidious assumption, in most cases: that we are robots. If drugs, guns, violent games are available ---then they will push our buttons and we have no responsibility for our actions. So we rally for a course of action that will sanitize our environment, so nothing can push these buttons. We seem to be tacking towards a society where an individual is not empowered to make any decision which could affect their own safety, or the safety of the group. We are plundering and exchanging our freedoms, like our natural resources, for promises of comfort and security. The implicit assumption in all this is seldom questioned, but I often wonder just where this sanitation eventually leads us? What Brave New World do we envision as the final outcome?
I don't know. But for the first time in history I think I'm actually registering to vote. Mainly because it's the first time someone running for office actually had a vision worth supporting. Grandpa Gravel for president(!) :-) (oooh, I did it now :-)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1KyFRyxZp-s
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqA
My Dad always said, "If you don't vote, you can't complain so that sure makes me vote". I totally agree that the trend over the last few years has been to "blame" something or someone for the choices that we make.
ReplyDeleteYa, per the voting, never had the inclination before ---I didn't want to play "lesser of two evils", as if I were getting free choice :-) Up to now, every candidate was a booby prize, lol.
ReplyDeleteIf the guy is to have a chance, he needs to list his top most powerful 10 changes he seeks..put them on a poster and put his name to the bottom of it.
ReplyDeleteI found the Youtube hard to keep interested in, he's got a bunch on his mind but in that format...it was hard to "see the picture" hard to "envision" the government he seeks to create.
GrandPa Gravel could do no worse than any of the socalled frontrunners. I too find the choices very limited. We do need to have a government "of the people,by the people and for the people" and not for the special interest groops so deeply entrinched in D.C. My vote is for Gravel.
ReplyDelete