When the internet first started to really connect the whole world, some of us -me included -thought that this would be the great 'coming together' of humankind. I thought that from this easily accessible international 'link-up' there would flow more understanding, solidarity and hope. Now, all these years later (not that many), those hopes seem more and more naive.
When we post stuff on sites(twitter and FB for example), do we ever ask ourselves why? Why is it so important for us to air and vent our gut instincts and knee jerk reactions to events and news items? Most of it is just a emotional reaction to things, I call them 'first instinct' reactions, with that I mean it's mostly what we think ,before we have all the facts or background. We read a headline and immediately we form an opinion, mostly before reading up on the details, because we want to be first with a point of view, the online forums are about speed, about being the first with an opinion about news item 'X' .
So we rant and we rage, unhindered by lack of knowledge or expert opinion, back in the day when news was a bit less speed and a bit more balanced, we used to weigh up the alternative points of view, and check them with our experiences and thoughts on the subject before we took a stand. Back then our thoughts on the subjects were only vented when in family circles or with friends or colleagues, that was 'live' so we had to be informed to counter any "ifs" or "buts" thrown up by 'live' people around us. But now in this 'social network' reality we live in, we don't really need argument, we just post our knee jerk reactions, there isn't the need to defend them with facts, because there is no debate, it's just us -basically talking to ourselves in a world wide forum. Anybody with a counter point of view is easily 'blocked' and we end up with just (unknown) friends that agree with our emotional rants. So we get almost no negative feed back, we can exclude ourselves from different points of view. Self criticism goes out the window, and we harden in our (hardly) thought out opinions.
When was the last time you changed your point of view after listening to rational argument? When was the last time you took the time to get and check all the facts before forming an opinion? I noticed this gradual change in myself, there is so much going on -non stop - on line that we don't give ourselves the time anymore for self criticism.
So, it's time to slow down, and also to admit that I (we) sometimes just have no opinions on things that are beyond our control anyway. What I do know is that with more and more so called information on-line it's getting more and more difficult to see the difference between truth and lies, between fact and fiction and real knowledge and 'made up science'.
We seem to be living in an age where 'everybody's point of view is equal' well here's the news ….. it's not. We are not all experts, we can have ways of looking at things, but not all thoughts on the subject matter at hand are equal, that's why some people are called experts.
So you might see my posts and tweets slowing down. When I want to react to something I will try to get some real information first, I will read up on the subject check my knee jerk reaction with reality before being a dick on line. Although by the time I've reached a balanced opinion,it will obviously be few days later, and the 'post' or 'tweet' will be no longer relevant, the shelf life for reactions is about 2 days after that it's old hat and we move on to the next topic or news item.
But it is a good exercise, just to stop and think sometimes about why you want to post about something, why you feel the need to vent these opinions? and maybe think about the content.
Why waste valuable 'life time' on stuff you don't know enough about, when you could be outside, in the real world.
Monday 14 November 2016
Friday 11 November 2016
The Future is Bright…….
Well, I for one didn't see that Trump victory coming. To be honest I felt sorry for the U.S. citizens having to choose between the two candidates on offer -ok, I know there were independent candidates but in the US they don't have a chance. As someone said on Twitter 'in 8 years we've gone from hope, to a president that was endorsed by the KKK'.
It seems to me that we are witnessing a worldwide distrust of politics, (that we then go on to give our trust to corrupt business leaders is another question) the political establishment has lost all of it's credibility. The sentiment of the people that voted Trump is in some ways also that of people who supported Bernie Sanders, or in the UK Jeremy Corbyn and even the Brexit voters. It seems a contradiction but it's really not. A lot of people are feeling disenfranchised by the political elite and turn to other alternatives, I guess a lot of Trump voters saw their vote being a vote against 'politics as usual'.
It is an understandable sentiment but is also dangerous.
In most countries politicians are the slaves to big business , so it is ironic that in the U.S. a representative of 'wild capitalism' has been elected president when it's big business that got us in this universal economic mess in the first place.
We have to wait and see if Trumps bite is as bad as his bark, but it's not looking good for progressive forces in the U.S. But there again, I ask myself what progress the world would have made with Hillary Clinton as president? We will never know. One thing is certain, with this rise of populism world wide, a lot of European leaders will be dreading the following elections in their own countries -starting in France and Germany. Exciting times, and to be honest (and speaking as a comedian)……the future is bright with Trump although the 'brightness' might be caused by global warming.
It seems to me that we are witnessing a worldwide distrust of politics, (that we then go on to give our trust to corrupt business leaders is another question) the political establishment has lost all of it's credibility. The sentiment of the people that voted Trump is in some ways also that of people who supported Bernie Sanders, or in the UK Jeremy Corbyn and even the Brexit voters. It seems a contradiction but it's really not. A lot of people are feeling disenfranchised by the political elite and turn to other alternatives, I guess a lot of Trump voters saw their vote being a vote against 'politics as usual'.
It is an understandable sentiment but is also dangerous.
In most countries politicians are the slaves to big business , so it is ironic that in the U.S. a representative of 'wild capitalism' has been elected president when it's big business that got us in this universal economic mess in the first place.
We have to wait and see if Trumps bite is as bad as his bark, but it's not looking good for progressive forces in the U.S. But there again, I ask myself what progress the world would have made with Hillary Clinton as president? We will never know. One thing is certain, with this rise of populism world wide, a lot of European leaders will be dreading the following elections in their own countries -starting in France and Germany. Exciting times, and to be honest (and speaking as a comedian)……the future is bright with Trump although the 'brightness' might be caused by global warming.
Tuesday 1 November 2016
Illusion
It's the first of November and we all know what that means, we are now entering the 'dark months' . Months of grey miserable skies and not much daylight to compensate. I always find Autumn and Winter a time for contemplation, a time to look in the mirror and take stock. Spring and summer are the times to be playful, zestful and even maybe irresponsible. But Autumn and Winter bring out the amateur philosopher in me. So please excuse me while I indulge.
In these days of 'social' networks and twitter fame, a lot of people (me included) get drawn into the constant stream of bickering, adulation, shit throwing and narcissism these networks offer. We count 'likes' 'retweets' and 'followers' like it actually means anything, as if it will make us happier or more contented -spoiler alert, it doesn't. If anything, it makes us more resentful toward those with a different argument, more success better photos etc etc etc. It's as if we are now all screaming to be heard, we ignore the people around us and use our time to impress people we will never see, meet or have any sort of relationship with, we now have the (illusional) power of creating a new 'us', we can play 'pretend' on line in real time. Try to show people the 'real ' us, who we would like to be, we learn how to pose for photos that will show how hip and trendy we are, what a great cook we are, what great parents we are, how fantastic our children are, how fantastic our life is , and so it goes on and on and on. We sacrifice the real enjoyment of life as it is, for what we want others to think it is.
We forget to enjoy the moment we are actually in because we have to pose for photos or post statements on what we are doing ,so as to impress others, others we don't even know.
The way we are becoming seems to be a shift in our evolution, I'm curious where it will lead us, but I won't live long enough to see the real change. future generations will have only known this as being reality.
I ,along with most of us on this planet ,have no power over how we act and react to things, I can tweet,post, and comment as much as I want on-line but it won't change the outcome of the problems we as a species are facing. What I can do, is be aware and live in the real world I live in, be critical and honest to myself about myself, be aware of the real people around me, not the ones that only exist in the 'on-line' world. Change what can be changed, take responsibility for personal failings or situations and live life.
The 'allotted' time we have on this planet is short, when looking back. One day we will all just be memories, photos, or gravestones. We should be aware, every day of the clock ticking away the seconds toward our end.
Today is the 1st of November, all saints day in the Catholic calendar , a day when a lot of people visit their deceased relatives, or friends, put flowers on graves, walk through fallen leaves in the graveyards and where not one headstone gathers likes or followers.
In these days of 'social' networks and twitter fame, a lot of people (me included) get drawn into the constant stream of bickering, adulation, shit throwing and narcissism these networks offer. We count 'likes' 'retweets' and 'followers' like it actually means anything, as if it will make us happier or more contented -spoiler alert, it doesn't. If anything, it makes us more resentful toward those with a different argument, more success better photos etc etc etc. It's as if we are now all screaming to be heard, we ignore the people around us and use our time to impress people we will never see, meet or have any sort of relationship with, we now have the (illusional) power of creating a new 'us', we can play 'pretend' on line in real time. Try to show people the 'real ' us, who we would like to be, we learn how to pose for photos that will show how hip and trendy we are, what a great cook we are, what great parents we are, how fantastic our children are, how fantastic our life is , and so it goes on and on and on. We sacrifice the real enjoyment of life as it is, for what we want others to think it is.
We forget to enjoy the moment we are actually in because we have to pose for photos or post statements on what we are doing ,so as to impress others, others we don't even know.
The way we are becoming seems to be a shift in our evolution, I'm curious where it will lead us, but I won't live long enough to see the real change. future generations will have only known this as being reality.
I ,along with most of us on this planet ,have no power over how we act and react to things, I can tweet,post, and comment as much as I want on-line but it won't change the outcome of the problems we as a species are facing. What I can do, is be aware and live in the real world I live in, be critical and honest to myself about myself, be aware of the real people around me, not the ones that only exist in the 'on-line' world. Change what can be changed, take responsibility for personal failings or situations and live life.
The 'allotted' time we have on this planet is short, when looking back. One day we will all just be memories, photos, or gravestones. We should be aware, every day of the clock ticking away the seconds toward our end.
Today is the 1st of November, all saints day in the Catholic calendar , a day when a lot of people visit their deceased relatives, or friends, put flowers on graves, walk through fallen leaves in the graveyards and where not one headstone gathers likes or followers.
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