Masturbation of Our Minds
/I was reading some of the good doctor's (thats Dr Gonzo [Hunter S. Thompson] to the uninitiated or square) correspondence letters from Fear and Loathing in America. Anyone could wax about his sharp style or critiques of America socially, politically, etc. But, I really began to think about how that period the 1960's and 1970's (up through the early/mid nineties) was the last era of meaningful communication.
The letter is an arcane artform. It is so slow... With the time it would take a letter to reach Ben Franklin in Paris and his reply to Washington, D.C. the contents better be important, thought provoking, and forward thinking. Even email today is to slow and static; and has evolved into Facebook and Twitter which moved email from a (mostly) private conversation to a semi-public forum. On the surface this sounds revolutionary. There is a constant flow of data and breaking news stories. We see what are friends and associates are eating, watching, or doing. The instant gratification of a response to a blog, tweet, or status update lures us in. What do people think of my ideas and links to other websites? Please like this photo of the Grand Canyon... RT
snarky comment
#hashtag basketball music and general bullshit.
We share links from spotify or videos from youtube to show what we are listening to at the moment. Google offers us the option of hanging out with our friends without leaving our home!!! We meet new people and talk to the ones we knew only to realize we have nothing in common except we went to the same high school We yearn to connect via common interest with our friends and strangers. The masses are really searching for validation. Validation in their thoughts and feelings. The cows graze the field like the masses consume and regurgitate information, pictures, video, and philosophical musings. You are oh so original with the memes and tweets during NBA games. Information moves through our wi-fi connections and from our phones so we are always connected. In the car, on the train, waiting in line or on the john we are always connected to something. The speed has increased to the point that substantive arguments and information is put to the side for the trite as we all become micro-blog comedians.
We think that we are searching for the truth when we watch cable news (FoxNews and MSNBC) but really we are not viewing for information, we are seeking affirmation. Ah Ha President Obama is a secret Muslim that went to a radical Christian Church in Chicago and controls gas prices (when they go up).
All we are left with is a trite stream of talking points and half-cocked jokes. Twitter is either a great news source and stream of unfettered consciousness or unfiltered bullshit. I am going with the latter. And I am not immune to this criticism. I am a felony offender. I check my twitter feed all through the day and for what? There are some mildly amusing jokes; people commenting on the NBA playoffs; even breaking news. But how does me reading about a landslide in Myanmar, a serial killer in New York, or a tiger attacking a tourist in Mumbai (which is surrounded by a jungle full of tigers; bet you didn't know that) really effect my life. By the way I said tourist because why the hell would anyone care if some poor Indian was mauled by a
. Even the events in Syria are shocking but, lets get real I am doing anything about it.
Yesterday Ron-Ron-Ron aka Metta World Peace took heat because he didn't know it was Memorial Day. Evidently, he thought it was Labor Day or something (who cares). People got on their high-horses about the troops... really, what the hell were you doing yesterday? huh? Unless you were volunteering at the VA; honoring your grandfather that served by playing cards with his friends at the VFW; or anything at all I dont want to hear it. My guess is that 90% of the people shaking their iPhones at Metta just grilled chicken, drank some beer, and updated their Facebook status with something about how "Freedom isn't Free" or "Remember our troops". Sorry to burst your bubble but supporting the troops isn't changing your profile picture to a flag waving in the air.
Maybe we should listen to
and David Lynch
