"Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much. " - Walter Lippmann
This piece definitely comes from a place of angst and social frustration, in which I will be venting a lifetime of penned up rage and despair towards general society. Particularly those who wade foolishly in the shallow kiddie pool of decadence at it's slimy, depraved, morally bankrupt center.
So if you feel at any point that my words are that of some societal reject who simply carries embittered feelings towards never being accepted by the general populous, feel free to click back to farm ville and fuck the fuck off of my page, this is not the place for you my little lost sheep.
Now, with that out of the way, we can get into the matters that matter here.
I suppose we ought to start by talking about exactly what it is I mean by the "Herd Mentality" and why I feel it is a deeply dangerous thing for mankind.
"The Bewildered Herd" was a term coined originally by the man I quoted at the top of this page, Walter Lippmann.
One of the greatest minds our kind has seen and the man who is responsible for the "manufacture of consent" in our country through ingenious tools such as propaganda and mass media manipulation.
I dare not go into the exact aim and implication of said tools but if you find yourself curious, you need only pick up one of Lippmann's books, particularly "Public Opinion".
Aside from the main aim of these tools, which I feel is a different subject entirely, an unfortunate side effect is that every ones opinion is infected by what they are constantly told.
There is no critical thinking among us and even when we resist an idea initially, all it takes is to have it hammered into us over and over to have our opinions slowly but surely molded to the desired shape.
One of the most important lessons my father and the late George Carlin taught me was that when you are being fed information, keep in mind that the teacher, the lesson plan and the school could very well be wrong so it's best to look into something for yourself.
School teaches you how to be obedient, to follow instructions and it grades you accordingly, this gives way to the vast misconception that good grades and degrees equate to intelligence.
Just because you paid attention in class does not mean they had you looking in the right directions.
"Smash the control images, smash the control machine." - William S. Burroughs
Have you ever been engaged in a fun and enjoyable conversation with someone and then "click" the television comes on and not a word can seemed to be uttered? It could be somebody you have known and trusted and enjoyed talking with for years and yet somehow, they just cannot compete with the Real housewives of New Jersey.
Something about watching these trashy, depraved wastes of human genetic material just wont let you look away.
This I believe is by design of course and that is what it is, but it has made the art of conversation a lost and forgotten one.
I am a devout and, if I may be so bold as to say, gifted conversationalist and yet I am hard pressed to find people who can look up from their phones long enough to even placate me and provide half hearted, auto pilot responses.
We have becomes slaves to our gizmo's and toys, techno zombies, if you will.
People do not want to talk to each other anymore, they prefer to type words at you that momentarily service their monstrously over inflated ego needs and then not be bothered when you respond objectively.
Which, by the way, I see the irony of my words here, however I encourage and welcome you to engage me at any point should you be inclined to disagree, I cherish the small joy of intelligent debate.
We think we know everything when we know less than nothing in terms of actual facts, we simply parrot things we have heard from sources we have been tricked into respecting. It's a many frustrating world for you intellectual types I would wager. We have the entire collected knowledge of man gripped between our fat little fingers most of the time and we can not be bothered to use it because angry birds is just too addicting to put down.
In light of these sad facts, It's not a wonder we are controlled and manipulated by certain forces that we could see quite clearly if we only knew where to look.
It's not a wonder why everything seems to be slowly circling the drain and the human game appears to be nearing it's end.
Maybe, just maybe, we can wake up before we end up in the tar pits alongside the dinosaurs, but I do not hold out hope and neither should you, but remember that I could very well be wrong, so maybe you should look for yourself and see what you find. Anyhow, I'll continue this rant another day I'm sure, class dismissed people.
I suppose we ought to start by talking about exactly what it is I mean by the "Herd Mentality" and why I feel it is a deeply dangerous thing for mankind.
"The Bewildered Herd" was a term coined originally by the man I quoted at the top of this page, Walter Lippmann.
One of the greatest minds our kind has seen and the man who is responsible for the "manufacture of consent" in our country through ingenious tools such as propaganda and mass media manipulation.
I dare not go into the exact aim and implication of said tools but if you find yourself curious, you need only pick up one of Lippmann's books, particularly "Public Opinion".
Aside from the main aim of these tools, which I feel is a different subject entirely, an unfortunate side effect is that every ones opinion is infected by what they are constantly told.
There is no critical thinking among us and even when we resist an idea initially, all it takes is to have it hammered into us over and over to have our opinions slowly but surely molded to the desired shape.
One of the most important lessons my father and the late George Carlin taught me was that when you are being fed information, keep in mind that the teacher, the lesson plan and the school could very well be wrong so it's best to look into something for yourself.
School teaches you how to be obedient, to follow instructions and it grades you accordingly, this gives way to the vast misconception that good grades and degrees equate to intelligence.
Just because you paid attention in class does not mean they had you looking in the right directions.
"Smash the control images, smash the control machine." - William S. Burroughs
Have you ever been engaged in a fun and enjoyable conversation with someone and then "click" the television comes on and not a word can seemed to be uttered? It could be somebody you have known and trusted and enjoyed talking with for years and yet somehow, they just cannot compete with the Real housewives of New Jersey.
Something about watching these trashy, depraved wastes of human genetic material just wont let you look away.
This I believe is by design of course and that is what it is, but it has made the art of conversation a lost and forgotten one.
I am a devout and, if I may be so bold as to say, gifted conversationalist and yet I am hard pressed to find people who can look up from their phones long enough to even placate me and provide half hearted, auto pilot responses.
We have becomes slaves to our gizmo's and toys, techno zombies, if you will.
People do not want to talk to each other anymore, they prefer to type words at you that momentarily service their monstrously over inflated ego needs and then not be bothered when you respond objectively.
Which, by the way, I see the irony of my words here, however I encourage and welcome you to engage me at any point should you be inclined to disagree, I cherish the small joy of intelligent debate.
We think we know everything when we know less than nothing in terms of actual facts, we simply parrot things we have heard from sources we have been tricked into respecting. It's a many frustrating world for you intellectual types I would wager. We have the entire collected knowledge of man gripped between our fat little fingers most of the time and we can not be bothered to use it because angry birds is just too addicting to put down.
In light of these sad facts, It's not a wonder we are controlled and manipulated by certain forces that we could see quite clearly if we only knew where to look.
It's not a wonder why everything seems to be slowly circling the drain and the human game appears to be nearing it's end.
Maybe, just maybe, we can wake up before we end up in the tar pits alongside the dinosaurs, but I do not hold out hope and neither should you, but remember that I could very well be wrong, so maybe you should look for yourself and see what you find. Anyhow, I'll continue this rant another day I'm sure, class dismissed people.
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