I love this post. It coincides with thoughts I've been having of my own lately, brought about by the introduction to book I had never heard of before
-
Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman.
In it, Postman asserts the notion that Aldous Huxley had it more correct than George Orwell. In his book
1984, Orwell's narrative made the
compelling case that the inevitable bent of society toward tyranny would bring down civilization. However Huxley, in his book,
A Brave New
World portrayed a world crippled by entertainment or pleasure instead.
When I think of all of the information found on the web, the human hours spent on endless sites and all of the crazy ideas, far-out theories and lies
mixed in with the Truth - particularly regarding provocative prospects like 9/11, NWO, Aliens or Pandemics - I have to question that 70% number just
as you do.
As Postman explains it;
"Information is now a commodity that can be bought and sold, or used as a form of entertainment, or worn like a garment to enhance one's
status. It comes indiscriminately, directed at no one in particular, disconnected from usefulness; we are glutted with information, drowning in
information, have no control over it, don't know what to do with it."
It's that part above which I bolded that concerns me so much. How many people try to capitalize on the truth
or a lie just to increase their
wealth, power or status?
Additionally, in the book, Postman describes a phenomenon called the
Information to Action
Ratio which, essentially states:
...access to decontextualized information “made the relationship between information and action both abstract and remote.” Information
consumers were “faced with the problem of a diminished social and political potency.”
So while some people use the information as a means to enhance themselves or their agenda, the end result is that the rest of us are left feeling
disconnected, powerless and over-whelmed by either the sheer volume of information or the magnitude of the "issues" that don't really even affect
us in our daily lives and that we can never hope to change.
So I have to agree with you, there is absolutely a "Dark Side" to "Conspiracy Theory" and it's not just the endless doom of scary speculation or
the prospect of hidden agendas, but it's also the intent by those purveying these theories and the affect that it has on our collective psyche.
And before anyone asks - No - I am not referring to ATS but to the many individuals, anonymous and notorious, who spin their tales for dubious
reasons, either for entertainment or for something more nefarious. It reminds me of
Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, the authenticity of which
may well be doubted but certainly not the thesis - that information would be used as a weapon to kill our spirit and control society.
[edit on 25/7/2009 by kosmicjack]