America less concerned with reality than appearance.

[tevlen]

Here's a little Gem of an article i found which I think brings up a lot of great points.

Forget Red vs. Blue -- It's the Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda | | AlterNet

here's an excerpt from the last paragraph, which sums up the entire story

The core values of our open society, the ability to think for oneself, to draw independent conclusions, to express dissent when judgment and common sense indicate something is wrong, to be self-critical, to challenge authority, to understand historical facts, to separate truth from lies, to advocate for change and to acknowledge that there are other views, different ways of being, that are morally and socially acceptable, are dying.

I for one would love to see our society focus more on how things actually are, rather than what people would like them to be, but current society seems to think that reality is subject to public opinion.

 

[Alaude Drenxta]

Personally, I beg to differ. The study seems to be thorough enough, but I've seen from personal experience that now, more than ever, people are questioning the world around them. Maybe it's just people I know, and have spoken to. At the very least, we have a pretty well rounded and intelligent group of people around this forum. It may be a minority, but honestly is that much different than it's been in the past?

Maybe I'm just being too optimistic, and we're going down the toilet without my notice, but I'd like to think we've progressed well beyond blind acceptance.

Though, I'll admit that we are being greatly influenced by modern media. It seems that a lot of stereotypes and conceptions of society become defined by movies and television.

 

[tevlen]

While blind acceptance is bad, it is also bad to believe that any sufficiently large group of people without expertise in an area are fit to question the consensus of the majority of a field based on gut instincts.

For example, more than 20% of Americans believe that the universe is less than 10'000 years old, despite the fact that many major churches including the catholic church have accepted the scientific consensus that it is far older than that, so this is not something that can be simply put to "religion vs science"

While things should be questioned, they should be questioned in a methodical an open minded manner, as opposed to todays "I made up my mind, you're in a conspiracy" such as that which occurred with the whole autism and vaccines thing.

 

[Square Ninja]

itt we state the obvious

 

[Alaude Drenxta]

While blind acceptance is bad, it is also bad to believe that any sufficiently large group of people without expertise in an area are fit to question the consensus of the majority of a field based on gut instincts.

For example, more than 20% of Americans believe that the universe is less than 10'000 years old, despite the fact that many major churches including the catholic church have accepted the scientific consensus that it is far older than that, so this is not something that can be simply put to "religion vs science"

While things should be questioned, they should be questioned in a methodical an open minded manner, as opposed to todays "I made up my mind, you're in a conspiracy" such as that which occurred with the whole autism and vaccines thing.

Things like that usually start as a rumor, or a butthurt parent who doesn't want to admit that their kid is autistic because they did cocaine while pregnant. (Before any loses their shit, that was a joke)

 

[tevlen]

You're exactly right. But the problem is that the rumors like that get picked up and run with despite all evidence to the contrary.

 

[Enchanted Rose]

There are some obvious points being made here, but still, lots of people are engaging in this ‘unreality’, so the article is valid in many of its assertions.

Most significantly in the sense that artifice is rewarded in our culture; a prominent example is how make-up and plastic surgery is seen as the route to being beautiful. Adding to this, insincerity is prevalent in the fact we’re told shows like American Idol and the Hills are ‘reality’, but they’re very deliberately crafted for entertainment value.

I find it interesting that Obama was flagged up. Whilst I don’t want to sound superior, I have always been slightly astonished at all the people who were swept up in the Obama campaign, without a shred of cynicism or doubt. The article probably rightly suggests that political campaigns are ‘designed to ignite pseudo feelings’.

In a similar way, culturally, people are being appeased by gimmicks – whether it is as overt as autotune/ flashing lights or films designed to adrenalize and obfuscate artistic merit *coughs Inception*

I’ve made the point to a number of my American friends, that I’m surprised at how American politicians enjoy celebrity status. In a rational society, Sarah Palin could not be a serious contender for any kind of political role, and arguably the same goes for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A lot of intelligent people I know abstain from voting, because there’s simply no party that they deem to be credible or their beliefs align with. If the government is meant to be representative of the people, this is problematic, and it shows that how difficult it is to attain a coherent reality.

As a side note, bizarrely, the best articulation and most detailed examination of the schism between reality and artifice and how it's eroding American integrity is Kanye West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

It’s becoming harder for people to feel intrinsically content; we have to rely on external things to provide legitimacy to our actions. For instance, I’m told that relationships aren’t real until they’re ‘facebook official’.

More than anything (and this isn’t exclusive to America as is a worldwide trend) ideas and experiences are constantly being commoditized.

 

[_EX]

You should probably ask yourself "which is better, believing you are good or understanding that you arent?"
Surely, if everyone in America saw themselves as they truly are, there would be some major and rushed changes. This would affect so much more than what we would expect.

It requires a subtle change.

 

[mz. eggsy]

words

Indeed campaigns churn on exploiting Pseudo Feelings. Fox News and Right sensationalists like Beck and Limbaugh run on this every day.

It's always profoundly interesting to me that thinking is constantly seen as unentertaining, so instead I'll have this silly fat white man scream hatred at me

What could really domino ALL of every social problem pretty splickly is education; what with the "Huck Finn and the Nig

ger in the woodpile" deal somewhat recently and through personal and impersonal experience, it's clear that facts and instruction are simply made boring by not giving any importance to them or failing to have the gall and to spend the time to extend that importance to them. It encourages ways around things rather than through them, so to speak. It has been this way for a long time:

And from Harpo Marx's autobiography:

School prepared you for Life--that thing in the far off future--but not for the World, that thing you had to face, today, tonight, and when you woke up in the morning with no idea what the new day would bring.

Still all about commodities. And RESULTS too, don't forget those. Honestly, I get a little nauseous when I find myself disappointed that I haven't "been productive today." Why is it such a crime to do nothing? This may be just social debris, but I really can't recall a time (when I wasn't intoxicated) where I was satisfied simply to exist. Maybe childhood. A long time ago, people did all the playing, now it seems GIZMOS AND GADGETS do it for us. Even then we don't even respect said toys, it's leaked into language; "look at all this 'shit' I brought."

The following may not be related, but it's something I just thought of, and it feels like it should be here, so whatever: Walking down the street sometimes I see things in cafe windows like "PANINI + COFFEE ONLY $$7.50" and kind of want to puke. To most people that's an hour of work. One hour of your life gone. Probably isn't even a good panini.

the problem is that the government doesn't rep the people at all or at least most of the time it doesn't

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

 

[Bukkake Sensei]

I want to underscore this fact by quoting it:

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

Again.

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

And again.

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

And again.

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

And again and again and again.

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

Shitty politicians come from a shitty public, so there very well is a true representation of the people, sorry.

 

[Square Ninja]

i can't help but appreciate the irony that a society commoditized is one that is culturally bankrupt

 

[Solar]

To make a long post short, a lot of everything mentioned above manifests itself in apathy and pseudo-passion. Especially among the youth.

Also, on that note, no one seems to understand what it means to be 'liberal' anymore.

 

[Square Ninja]

media saturation in a culture that has yet to become self-aware

 

[tevlen]

Interestingly on that note, instant communication means there is no time for reflection, which in turn means you never consider the relationships things have with one another.

Instant messaging and text messaging made an entire generation have a few of the symptoms of autism because without having time to reflect on social exchanges, empathy never properly develops.

The same thing occurs with media and information on a culture.