Re: If you liked the Aldous Huxley . . . maybe . . .
Reg
location: back to the wilderness
listening to: static
registered: 1999.11.22
posts: 6470
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"Karl Rovian type politicos have been mutations in our political lives, and subject themselves to the same laws of evolution the Galapagos inspired Darwin to set down."
Wow, I really like that statement. You know, I added the video of evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers at the end of that long rant of mine because I believe that for us to continue to evolve and thrive as a species we need to improve our ability to recognize bullshit (propaganda, public relations, ha!). As we get better at spotting bullshit people who want to dish out bullshit get better at delivering it. Maybe that sounds simple and lame but his ideas about self deception really make me think about how people will whole heartedly delude themselves into believing just about anything if you can convince them it will effect their lives. While I do think it is possible for the Rove types to burn themselves down I believe we need to assist them in doing so and by we I really mean all of us including the vast numbers of people that buy into "death panel" nonsense when they hear it. Something as crazy as "death panels" never should have fooled vast numbers of the American public but it did and really we should look at why.
"Fortunately we are able to stick our heads out from behind the symbols of comfort we create, including those designed to fill our political souls with a non-comittal apathy towards elements in our lives that do not serve our best interests,--to keep us, for example, from voting--, to not only select out the Rovian abberation, but to perceive the world with a strength we thought we had lost."
I think we not only create symbols of comfort but also symbols of discomfort that make us feel comfortable and we sort of love them equally...ha! It seems you got that based on your response. When we used to have a quote section above the board I had posted a quote from Jacques Derrida about how if you give your monsters names they become pets. Well, in the USA we name all of our monsters because we want them as pets or symbols. Monsters are useful and beautiful to Americans. We loath and love them at the same time because they both frighten and soothe us. We need our monsters as much as we need our Gods or heroes.
"(Thanks for that fireside chat stimulant.)"
Thank you, Heath, for the reply and keeping a real discussion going!
–--
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
Reg
(view)
"Karl Rovian type politicos have been mutations in our political lives, and subject themselves to the same laws of evolution the Galapagos inspired Darwin to set down."
Wow, I really like that statement. You know, I added the video of evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers at the end of that long rant of mine because I believe that for us to continue to evolve and thrive as a species we need to improve our ability to recognize bullshit (propaganda, public relations, ha!). As we get better at spotting bullshit people who want to dish out bullshit get better at delivering it. Maybe that sounds simple and lame but his ideas about self deception really make me think about how people will whole heartedly delude themselves into believing just about anything if you can convince them it will effect their lives. While I do think it is possible for the Rove types to burn themselves down I believe we need to assist them in doing so and by we I really mean all of us including the vast numbers of people that buy into "death panel" nonsense when they hear it. Something as crazy as "death panels" never should have fooled vast numbers of the American public but it did and really we should look at why.
"Fortunately we are able to stick our heads out from behind the symbols of comfort we create, including those designed to fill our political souls with a non-comittal apathy towards elements in our lives that do not serve our best interests,--to keep us, for example, from voting--, to not only select out the Rovian abberation, but to perceive the world with a strength we thought we had lost."
I think we not only create symbols of comfort but also symbols of discomfort that make us feel comfortable and we sort of love them equally...ha! It seems you got that based on your response. When we used to have a quote section above the board I had posted a quote from Jacques Derrida about how if you give your monsters names they become pets. Well, in the USA we name all of our monsters because we want them as pets or symbols. Monsters are useful and beautiful to Americans. We loath and love them at the same time because they both frighten and soothe us. We need our monsters as much as we need our Gods or heroes.
"(Thanks for that fireside chat stimulant.)"
Thank you, Heath, for the reply and keeping a real discussion going!
–--
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
'The only way to avoid getting crushed by absurdity, is to humbly include the absurd in our calculations.'
