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Bite Me Deviance and Dominance in Society Idiots = RNC Staying Out - Staying Home Judge Not... Will Work for Food Working for the Weekend data lamp lamp Justin Oldham - Politics and Patriotism
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8.19.2006
So, three things: 1) It occured to me the other day that the concept of personal property leads directly to the neccesity of war. Why else would one group try to kill another. And even in the case of ethnic, or religious wars there is still the underlying result of the winner gaining from the conflict. 2) I saw on This Modern World that there is a poll that says that most Americans are more familiar with pop culural knowledge than there are with either scientific, historical or political knowledge. Which should surprise nobody, considering the amount of time, effort and money that goes into making sure that people have a very specific and targeted kind of information. I don't think the issue was ever whether people could learn, but rather what is important for them to learn. Having general knowledge is actually quite bothersome for the business world which sometimes like to use ignorance to guide public opinion. I know from my sales experience in a retail situation that people often come to me with bad information, but are sure that they know what is important to know. I have to be very careful not to tell them that they are wrong, but rather to suggest that there are other things to consider as well. I've long thought that the main problem that we have in funding for public education is in convincing the people with the money and the power that it is in their best interests to have people become educated in non-product specific ways. Frankly, from there point of view, I can see why they would want people stupid and ignorant, especially when it comes to politics. 3) I go back and forth on whether modern society is interesting or bland. Because on one hand I try to take a historical perspective on American culture as a whole, and I can see how it might look fascinating from a distance. But sometimes while I'm in the middle of it day to day it seems to void of purpose. In particular I get frustrated that we don't seem to care about our immediate cultural environment. We allow places to becomes replications of every other place. We all seem content to let our surroundings become just another collection of strip malls and chain stores. No place seems to have a feeling of place. It all feels so very familiar no matter where you go. So here in Denver, compared to Tulsa - though the scenery in the distance might change, what I see in front of me is the same - Wendy's, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Starbucks, etc... Its all units of sameness with which we build our cities. | |
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