This comment was by Jed Diamond in reference to the post – What’s Going On?
Ken, well spoken. It is easy to become numbed and overwhelmed. Social media can both connect us and leave us hungry for real contact with real people and places, plants and animals, the earth and all its complex, inter-connected life energies. I think some of the overwhelm is caused by a real world that is out of balance. Too many human beings, using too much of the earth’s elements, spewing out too many products of our insatiable hunger for more. In my work with addicts, one told me, “My addiction of choice isn’t alcohol or heroin. My addiction of choice is ‘more’” The paradox of addictions is the more we try and fill ourselves with “more,” the bigger the hole gets and the more hungry we are to fill it. The solution to this side of the dilemma is tp reach out and reconnect with the web of life, with loved ones, friends, companions, even those we disagree with, and for the others who share this wonderful world with us–the plants, animals, streams, mountains, sand, and rocks, all the that is.
Media of all kinds connects us in certain ways, but it is a mediated connection with a filter that has an agenda and a purpose. There is certainly a lot that is out of balance with our world, but those who control our mass media are in business to make money. “If it bleeds, it leads” reminds us that fear sells, whether its a product or a candidate who scares us to death, then promises he will keep us all safe, anguish our enemies, and make America Great Again (If only we could build a fence high enough to keep out the riff-raff.
I’m enjoying the RNC and DNC conventions. It’s a show that every social scientist can learn from. It tells us a lot about the state of the world (as filtered through media). Buts its good to remember we’re looking at the world through a carefully constructed filter and are not seeing life as it is.
I believe the dialogue we’re having here on GMP is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world. We can share openly, listen deeply, and learn from each other’s experiences. Hopefully, we can supplement our virtual connections with ones where we can see, hear, touch each other in real time, in real life.
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