Lately the news on local television channels made me think the same about our culture. I was fortunate enough to recognize the emergence of desensitization and empathy caused by media in the West because of my frequent visits, and also because I was not a resident and I could in turn assess the situation objectively.
Reading the following excerpt from "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" by Neil Postman brought the eddy of all those thoughts of discontention to words. I possibly could not agree more. Read, "A Brave New World" if you haven't already.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: an excerpt
"We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drownd in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right."
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Disdain
When, when, when will I learn to not look closely at roadkill lying in my path while driving?
Swindled
is finding a hollow, squishy Malteser in an anticipated packet of crispy rewards following a long week.
Medicare
About a month ago I read about a man who lay awake during his own brain surgery. The details of the case can be found here.
Call me one with limited perception and concentration skills, I just can't think beyond learning the fact that a retired truck driver in Australia can enjoy such health benefits, masha Allah.
Hershey Says
For the likes of the Halimas and the Ryzvans of the world - for Halima, who shook her head on finding words such as, "thingamajig" in the autocomplete feature of my phone, and for Ryzvan who tolerantly nodded his head each time I made up words such as these, words he magically understood as well.
Halima and Ryzvan: in your faces.