Crisis!!! The Sheep Are Thinking For Themselves!!!
The television networks are all up in arms today as the new Spring viewership numbers have come in. And they don’t look good at all. According to CNN , “More than 2.5 million fewer people are watching ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox that at the same time last year…” Aww, the poor widdle networks are woozing their viewers. Obviously, I don’t give a rat’s ass about the networks or their losses. They’ve been feeding us drivel for decades, and we’ve been brainwashed into a culture of abject consumerism and shallow perceptions of what Life is really about.
Now, do I think that this means that the viewers are all out exercising, planting gardens, sitting and having meaningful discussions with family and friends, or perusing the public libraries’ shelves? No. … But it’s got the networks worried that the sheep might be thinking for themselves. What would happen if the networks had to impress us to bring us back? What if we didn’t believe every line that they fed us? This, of course, translates to the advertisers simultaneously wetting their pants and shitting themselves, worried that we won’t be sitting in our chairs like doped-up, dribbling lobotomy patients, ready to absorb their obnoxious commercials. Hell, that would translate to consumers not pulling out their wallets as easily. … Oh, and let’s not forget the credit companies. Consumers that spend less acquire less debt — and they may even just decide to pay cash for things they need. Oh no!!! That means fewer people might line up to take it up the ass like some crack whore desperate for a fix.
In truth, I’m guessing that the reason that viewership seems to be down is that more and more people have access to DVR technology. This means they can watch the shows when they want AND, as an added benefit, fast forward through the commercials. Who isn’t annoyed by the fact that you can watch a 30-minute television show and only see 15 to 20 minutes of actual content? Why wouldn’t we want to fast forward through commercials, especially when the cable and satellite companies love boosting the volume 5 to 10 decibels for them, just to make sure you’re listening?
The rest of the population is probably just developing some other type of addiction, whether it is online porn, video games, or chatting incessantly on the telephone. Do I think Americans are spending their time in constructive ways? Very, very doubtful.
Nightmare Scenario
I’ve often pondered what would happen to our culture if we lost everything electronic, as if some great wave came from outer space and wiped out everything that uses electricity — computers, cell phones, automobiles, refrigerators, microwave ovens, etc. How well would we do? Would it be possible for us to switch gears back to having to grow our own food, to coordinate our communities to work together for our common survival, or even to restrain ourselves from breaking out into all-out war?
Do you want my opinion? Of course you do. Otherwise, why are you reading my blog? … In my humble, but accurate, opinion, our society would disintegrate into utter chaos. If you think New Orleans was a catastrophe of human de-evolution, then you ain’t seen nothing yet. For some strange reason, everyone would hit the electronics stores first. Would they loot the grocery stores? Sure. But that’s second on the list. First on the list is a brand new flat-screen television, big enough to cover an entire wall of their little apartments. Would it work? No. Could they even drive their automobiles to loot it? No. But, that would be the first “need” because that’s what we’ve been told we need.
Then, because so few people know how to till the soil, plant seeds, and reap harvests, we’d run out of food. Neighbor would kill neighbor to get one more scrap of food. Would they even attempt to plant crops? No. Everyone would sit on their hands waiting on the federal government to come rescue us. Another legacy of Hurricane Katrina — our utter belief that it’s the federal government’s responsibility to rebuild communities after a disaster. Needless to say, probably tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, would die in America alone.
Every time I think of this scenario, the song “Country Boy Can Survive,” by Hank Williams, Jr. comes to mind. And it’s true. The people in the country would survive, whereas the city dwellers wouldn’t. Land owners who could protect and cultivate their properties would fare the best. I hate to be all apocalyptic, but it’s a devastating scenario that we need to keep in mind as one aspect of our lives after another becomes dependant on computer technology.
It’s ironic that a guy like me, who makes his living off of technology, would be so seemingly anti-technology. I’m really not, however. I think technology has a great potential to launch humanity into higher and higher levels of civilization. But we’re so quick to absorb new technology that we’ve dropped a lot of necessary skills along the wayside, and we’ve redefined the concept of community in such a way as to eliminate interpersonal relationships and responsibility from the equation. We’ve stopped thinking for ourselves and allowed a group of corporations to control what we desire, what we find entertaining, how we spend our time, what we consider to be successful, and what we do with our lives. And I think it’s time to reevaluate this relationship.
The truth is that we’ve been convinced for decades that it’s all about us individually. The Me Generation of the 1960’s was pretty tame compared to ego-centricity of today. The entertainment industry does an excellent job of telling us that “it’s all about you.” Why? Because a person who is self-absorbed only needs a television and maybe a computer to keep themselves company. If a person is community-focused, then they’re more likely to be out IN the community, away from the “idiot box” (translated as “not buying products and being good consumers”).
I consider myself to be a fairly moderate person politically, and, as far as business goes, I consider myself to be a Libertarian. That means the consumer drives the market, not government mandates. But I have to say that I agree with a friend of mine who says that the modern iteration of capitalism has created a system of slavery in which the slaves don’t know they’re slaves and willingly (and eagerly) submit to the demands of their masters. This is the case only because we’ve allowed it to become that way. Those who grant power have the ability to take it away. Perhaps one day we’ll be mature enough as a society to do so.
