(no subject)
Things that are difficult for humans to verify (in my experience):
-Whether there is more vitriol and disrespect accorded our current president by his political opponents, or whether there was more vitriol and disrespect accorded the president just past by his political opponents.
-When a recession is over (the newspapers say yes, the employment situation of almost everyone I know says no).
-When someone is lying in a political context (snidely, this seems like a no-brainer to me. Always, as much as they can get away with, seems to be the best default answer).
-What it means to be a patriot.
I wonder if postmodernism is to blame for the problems, which seem on some level to be about the lack of a shared understanding of certain words or concepts (truth, lies, patriotism, respect, etc)- wasn't postmodernism all about exploding the notion of words are referring to central, shared ideas?
I personally get a little buggy and batty when someone uses, as an excuse for their own bad behavior in politics (from spreading lies or half truths or innuendo to being disrespectful to advocating violence) that the other side did it first. Seriously? Are you seriously entering the notion of "he hit me first" into an adult discussion? This ceases to be a valid excuse when you are *three years old*, and by the time you are in high school, if you use that excuse, your peers consider you lame. Also, this excuse implies an awareness that the behavior itself is poor form. Gah. It really really drives me up the wall.
It bothers me a bit less when people have wild eyed conspiracy theories. This is my take on that: many, many, many people lead lives that on some level bore them, but yearn for lives of adventure and meaning. Conspiracy theories are an immediate way to cheat some excitement and meaning into ones life, and are currently cheaper than movies or video games. Add to that the communal aspect of sharing conspiracy theories among one's friends, and I think that soon you have something similar to organized religion when it comes to the theraputic effects of having shared beliefs.
So I guess it makes a lot of sense to me that people would abandon their critical capacities for conspiracy theories- I think the thing that drives the need for excitement, meaning and shared communal values is probably deeper set within us than that which drives the need for rational thought.
It makes me sad, though. Sad at the notion of the underlying emptiness of so many people's lives, and sad at living in a world that seems to beckon with one hand, thwart with another.
On the other hand, there are so many people who do lead lives which are full of meaning and excitement, and that is inspiring indeed!
-Whether there is more vitriol and disrespect accorded our current president by his political opponents, or whether there was more vitriol and disrespect accorded the president just past by his political opponents.
-When a recession is over (the newspapers say yes, the employment situation of almost everyone I know says no).
-When someone is lying in a political context (snidely, this seems like a no-brainer to me. Always, as much as they can get away with, seems to be the best default answer).
-What it means to be a patriot.
I wonder if postmodernism is to blame for the problems, which seem on some level to be about the lack of a shared understanding of certain words or concepts (truth, lies, patriotism, respect, etc)- wasn't postmodernism all about exploding the notion of words are referring to central, shared ideas?
I personally get a little buggy and batty when someone uses, as an excuse for their own bad behavior in politics (from spreading lies or half truths or innuendo to being disrespectful to advocating violence) that the other side did it first. Seriously? Are you seriously entering the notion of "he hit me first" into an adult discussion? This ceases to be a valid excuse when you are *three years old*, and by the time you are in high school, if you use that excuse, your peers consider you lame. Also, this excuse implies an awareness that the behavior itself is poor form. Gah. It really really drives me up the wall.
It bothers me a bit less when people have wild eyed conspiracy theories. This is my take on that: many, many, many people lead lives that on some level bore them, but yearn for lives of adventure and meaning. Conspiracy theories are an immediate way to cheat some excitement and meaning into ones life, and are currently cheaper than movies or video games. Add to that the communal aspect of sharing conspiracy theories among one's friends, and I think that soon you have something similar to organized religion when it comes to the theraputic effects of having shared beliefs.
So I guess it makes a lot of sense to me that people would abandon their critical capacities for conspiracy theories- I think the thing that drives the need for excitement, meaning and shared communal values is probably deeper set within us than that which drives the need for rational thought.
It makes me sad, though. Sad at the notion of the underlying emptiness of so many people's lives, and sad at living in a world that seems to beckon with one hand, thwart with another.
On the other hand, there are so many people who do lead lives which are full of meaning and excitement, and that is inspiring indeed!