Across The Great Divide
There is a new Cold War being waged, similar to the old Cold War. Only this one is being fought between people who have some semblance of knowledge of how the world actually works—and those that don’t have a clue. It’s in part generational, with age and experience vs. youth and idealism as the primary operating principals. It’s really much broader than that, however. As the Baby-Boomers have aged, they’ve kept a powerful grip on the myth of youth and eternal adolescence. This has become a way of life for one of the largest demographic groups in human history. It has, likewise, become the primary method for every succeeding generation.
In other words, one childish generation has begot another. What will that mean for humanity? It will mean that whatever adults remain will be held hostage by a nation of willful teenagers. We’d better hope that our caretakers are benevolent. Unfortunately, with history as our guide, it will be unlikely—and all of us, no matter how we’ve lived our lives, will pay the price for it.
Why the negativity? I spend a reasonable amount of time on Facebook, not an excessive amount, mind you, but more than I should. I seldom ever use it as a means of direct social interaction. Instead, I use it to get free articles from a variety of sources; political magazines, music sites, film reviews, religious scholars, crocodilian experts, pretty much all of my obsessions conveniently delivered in one spot. I also have some old and new friends that range in their opinion across a wide spectrum.
But other things slip through beyond my control. Things posted by fellow Facebookers about ghosts and space aliens, miracle cures, governmental mind-control—and the sheer power of belief. Hidden wisdom, ferreted out by a knowing few, eager to show you how to compel the government or the universe to give you things. Others are forever on the lookout for an angry God, avidly searching for non-believers to crush underfoot, “Hallelujah, praise His mighty name, come and receive your blessing!” Or a celestial ass-whooping, depending on how close you can get your toes to the line in the sand.
Conspiracy theories abound as well, usually dealing with multinational corporations, liberals, conservatives, Muslims, Christians, whoever and whatever you don’t like, find a glint of truth, no matter how dim and weave a narrative of compulsive presupposition. It is a brave new world—social devolution occurring before our very eyes, proving both Darwinism and the second law of thermodynamics as correct, in spite of their previous differences.
In other words, one childish generation has begot another. What will that mean for humanity? It will mean that whatever adults remain will be held hostage by a nation of willful teenagers. We’d better hope that our caretakers are benevolent. Unfortunately, with history as our guide, it will be unlikely—and all of us, no matter how we’ve lived our lives, will pay the price for it.
Why the negativity? I spend a reasonable amount of time on Facebook, not an excessive amount, mind you, but more than I should. I seldom ever use it as a means of direct social interaction. Instead, I use it to get free articles from a variety of sources; political magazines, music sites, film reviews, religious scholars, crocodilian experts, pretty much all of my obsessions conveniently delivered in one spot. I also have some old and new friends that range in their opinion across a wide spectrum.
But other things slip through beyond my control. Things posted by fellow Facebookers about ghosts and space aliens, miracle cures, governmental mind-control—and the sheer power of belief. Hidden wisdom, ferreted out by a knowing few, eager to show you how to compel the government or the universe to give you things. Others are forever on the lookout for an angry God, avidly searching for non-believers to crush underfoot, “Hallelujah, praise His mighty name, come and receive your blessing!” Or a celestial ass-whooping, depending on how close you can get your toes to the line in the sand.
Conspiracy theories abound as well, usually dealing with multinational corporations, liberals, conservatives, Muslims, Christians, whoever and whatever you don’t like, find a glint of truth, no matter how dim and weave a narrative of compulsive presupposition. It is a brave new world—social devolution occurring before our very eyes, proving both Darwinism and the second law of thermodynamics as correct, in spite of their previous differences.
I’ve begun to view it as the “One Great Mind.” Billions of neurons and synapses spitting chemicals across the various hemispheres of the brain, out of which emerges something like coherent thought. Images begin to form, familiar shapes are expressed in language, creating the illusion of logic. Symbols substitute for reality, but it's close enough for the “Great Mind” formed out of the primordial soup of social media.
Tribes of like-minded folk proceed across desert tundra, frozen wastelands are newly inhabited by digitally driven evolution and hastened by technology. Freedom is everywhere, but, Satan “The accuser” is never far away. He whispers silently into the unconscious void, surfing (As he has a want to do) on the power of suggestion. It is utopia—or Dodge City—or maybe both, but, it’s never quiet. All of the good and the bad morphed into a single, living entity.
Such is the nature of freedom. Which, if pronounced phonetically sounds like “Free-Dumb”! When you say it that way, a whole new world of understanding opens up. To be free and dumb, leads inevitably to a lack of freedom. Freedom simply becomes the rope, which forms the noose, which chokes you to death.
That’s why America is a Republican form of democracy. I don’t mean a democracy run by Republicans (Let’s get that straight.) But a democracy run (at least theoretically) by people who have “REAL” knowledge about the world. Not the stuff that comes from a quick read of our favorite internet sites or a YouTube channel.
And it’s that ability to interpret the data, those endless streams of electrons that dance through the collective cerebral cortex that determines who leads and who follows. The rest of us are pulled into slipstream, like it or not. This is where Satan resides, making endless accusations, hinting into the ear in search of a willful rube. One that's strong in personality but weak in character, eager to sit on the throne.
Mark Magula
Tribes of like-minded folk proceed across desert tundra, frozen wastelands are newly inhabited by digitally driven evolution and hastened by technology. Freedom is everywhere, but, Satan “The accuser” is never far away. He whispers silently into the unconscious void, surfing (As he has a want to do) on the power of suggestion. It is utopia—or Dodge City—or maybe both, but, it’s never quiet. All of the good and the bad morphed into a single, living entity.
Such is the nature of freedom. Which, if pronounced phonetically sounds like “Free-Dumb”! When you say it that way, a whole new world of understanding opens up. To be free and dumb, leads inevitably to a lack of freedom. Freedom simply becomes the rope, which forms the noose, which chokes you to death.
That’s why America is a Republican form of democracy. I don’t mean a democracy run by Republicans (Let’s get that straight.) But a democracy run (at least theoretically) by people who have “REAL” knowledge about the world. Not the stuff that comes from a quick read of our favorite internet sites or a YouTube channel.
And it’s that ability to interpret the data, those endless streams of electrons that dance through the collective cerebral cortex that determines who leads and who follows. The rest of us are pulled into slipstream, like it or not. This is where Satan resides, making endless accusations, hinting into the ear in search of a willful rube. One that's strong in personality but weak in character, eager to sit on the throne.
Mark Magula
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