It's late - maybe going to ramble on this, but...
The world is being run by advertisers.
Think a minute about how products are marketed - they are qualitatively defined, the full measure of truth and information about them are strategically sliced down to a brief space of time/space, and they are funded so as to be an ubiquitous reminder of what you should believe. Likely, this has had a lot more to do with our various associations and feelings about the products we buy than we - even we who would consider ourselves skeptics - would like to admit.
But what about what we understand about how the rest of the world works? Like "Directors of Brand Management" in the world of advertising, there are a lot of people pulling the strings in the much bigger and scarier world outside of product placement that stand only lose as a result of a wider dissemination of knowledge. Open up Yahoo! randomly and count the number of news stories suggesting you should be frightened of something (that you actually realize is statistically less of a threat than being hit by lightning), and then the number of "news" stories that are actually recounting events that transpired on a reality TV show from the previous night. What does this say about our appetite for information that puts us in greater touch with the world that affects us and those we should care about? Further, where does this seem to be leading us, as a people?
In a best case scenario (and a sad, sad "best case scenario" this is), this simply suggests that the masses are asses and tend to consume at the lowest common denominator. What I fear is that it's a concerted effort: Knowledge is power, and knowledge by everybody slows things down. When we're out of the loop; when we're kept fearful and frantic, or confounded to the point of apathy; or unable to distinguish between a genuine source of information or a unique selling proposition; that's when bastards could really make hay, couldn't they? That's when one of those qualitative, classic advertising pitches could really catch fire.
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4 comments:
Lots of things to comment on here:
First, I think the Iraq war and the War on Terror (tm) were the greatest single marketing coups in the history of mankind. Jeez, they even said that you don't roll out new products in August (of 2002). Perhaps one could call the election of Bush the greatest sales job ever, though the first time was more of a coup.
Secondly, on the control of information. Remember the reason Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden? They were tempted to eat of the tree of knowledge. KNOWLEDGE! This is such an absurd notion that it doesn't even get challenged. They were told not to gain knowledge by God himself, and when they failed to listen, they were booted. (the consequence of which is us, something that isn't at all clear would have occurred had they resisted the temptation - but that's off the track).
There was a recent episode of Radio Lab (www.radiolab.org) that delved into the history of The War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938. It was quite fascinating how cleverly Orson Welles and his crew manipulated people's habits to frighten them, and even crazier, the exact same thing has been done at least two times since, one in Ecuador and once in Buffalo, NY (in the 70's).
One theory they posited at the end of the show was regarding the trend of news programs to make everything seem scary (generally to get people to watch their show for the ad revenue) and people's willingness to believe that which their own eyes and common sense indicate otherwise.
In the end, following is easier than leading, and people like to have their beliefs reinforced, even with demonstrably false information. This dominates many of the hot button debates in our country, and greatly impedes the general forward advancement of society. Thus has it always been.
My great fear is that this isn't all just inertia. That the entire trajectory is being consciously manipulated by sinister minds.
The whole tree of knowledge thing - YES! You hit on it! The war on intellectualism is rooted way farther back in our history than we originally feared! (at the very beginning of our history, it would seem)
And side note or not - well noted. Thank God for original sin (literally). We wouldn't be here otherwise.
I don't think it's a Templar-like plot to keep the people down over centuries. I think it is a general intention by those with power to keep it, and as you said, knowledge is power.
So many bad things done to so many people in an effort to maintain power and wealth. So many.
Lots of people that look to ban books and music and ultimately ideas are fighting to maintain normalcy and stability in their narrow little world. They fear change. They're not trying to maintain anything more than their own power to understand the world. Institutions that do so are a different story.
Interesting to read your comments.
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