Comments on: State of the union

By: Ludiemeier Bitenhausen

Ludiemeier Bitenhausen — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:33:13 +0000

oooh i may have mis-stated my position.. i agree with you entirely.. and at no time did you insult anything.. if anything, a lively debate would be welcome with someone as formidable as yourself. but as we tend to see eye to eye on alot of things.. i find debates (outside of say, gun control) between you and I few and far between. I just think that its a natural process for the “state/goverment/THE MAN” to gain and lose control. its cyclical IMHO

By: serene

serene — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:48:45 +0000

@Ludie – I didn’t mean to insult your opinionated ways – hee. You bring up some great points about the masses and what kind of stupid shit they do. I still find it insulting to think that the elite bourgoise feel like they need to lie to us, basically beating us into submission in order to make their paths of domination an easy one infuriates me. And the fact that they can – and have – purposefully deceived the public makes me want to revolt.

@Kim – Your friends media consumption is exactly why I can’t tell if this evolution of media is good or bad thing. A more democratic approach to information dissemination makes me proud of who our generation represents – an engaged, thinking group smart enough to spread information on their own terms. But what does this mean for the big group. Like the ones who can’t afford technology, or live in places where they are censored – how are they accounted for and brought into the public arena. This is a fundamental issue if our political system is to stay the way it is.

By: kim

kim — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:40:31 +0000

i read an article in the seattle times that was sitting in the lunchroom at work. it was a reporter bemoaning how subscriptions had dropped by some huge amount and as a result the paper was laying off a lot of good employees. i thought about the people i know and their media intake. most of my friends barely watch tv and if they do, it’s downloaded or tivo’d and doesn’t have ads. a few subscribe to newspapers, but not many. almost everyone gets most of their news online, either via established media outlets or via community blogs.

By: Ludiemeier Bitenhausen

Ludiemeier Bitenhausen — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:02:26 +0000

Ahhh isn’t thinking FUN! Ok so many topics, so little soap box time…
1.) I am a firm believer that the greatest threat to free thinking society in the next century and beyond will be in the form of Marketing & Advertising. From the seemingly ubiquitous usage of demographical advertising (as you mentioned via zip code, etc..) to things like the pervasiveness of targeted junk mail, spam, and ad-ware shows us that indeed our country is devolving more and more away from a “true” representative government and more to a corporate controlled “matrix” of competing business interests. This is non-partisan too I might add, the left having money needing interests
like PETA, Greenpeace, even the RIAA have more democrats then republicans speaking out for them, straight to the right having even MORE tried and true money grubbing lobby’s like the NRA, big oil, and the defense industry. Being more of a “classical” liberal, I consider this stranglehold business interest has on our very lives from what we see,hear.. to the very foundations of our rights as human beings (see lobbying) is purely and simply sickening.

2.) To quote a note so dignified source:
“A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it”.
- Tommy Lee Jones “Men in Black”
The perception of groups of people as having any kind of determinable sense of right and wrong can be proven false at every turn in our history as a species. The need for an air of calm and balance is the only way to ensure a society from dissenting into chaos. The problem with this plan is you fundamentally undermine the very foundations of “free thinking” in doing so. I feel the key to this balance has been and should always be education. A mass of people, educated to the level they feel comfortable with is balancing weight to the idea that we must (gritting teeth) keep stupid things like reality television (and whatever mindless blather comes afterward) around if only to keep the “masses” benign. If people simply take the time to perhaps…i don’t know, READ between episodes of TMZ; We might actually start to get people who can have they’re own perceptions of ethic, yet still have a group understanding of the unity we must maintain to prosper. The quote you used about people be educated to think they should have a special place is very telling as well. This touches some points I try to make when discussion religion. To which i will not start that discussion here as i have to much respect for you to get on THAT soapbox.

3.) The evolution of media: While it is true that somewhat politically biased (but more so monetarily biased) people/companies are buying media outlets every day. And their influence is so palpable I feel as though I know what Rupert Murdoch actually TASTES like (a little like Alfredo with a touch of right-wing bullshit if you must know)! But of all the things mentioned in your blog THIS topic is the least weighing on my mind. The greatest hope free thinking society has amidst all this blather is the fact that the internet still gives SO much freedom of expression without possibility of retribution. So long as the net stays so fluid and dynamic, all the money and corporate bullying (ahem RIAA/MPAA) will not keep people and they’re dissenting opinions checked. And although the internet is merely a TOOL, and not the DRIVE to think those dissenting thoughts, the idea that you have said tool sure makes you also…. a tool. ;o)

In conclusion a little guilt: What made you think that only RO would comment on this blog post? Have you NOT gotten to know me well enough to know you couldn’t dangle this juicy a topic out there and not have my fat ass dig in a little bit! In all seriousness though I must commend you a truly inspired piece! KUDOS SERENE!