mass media – Sillyfrog's Blog

What came to mind immediately was the idiom “ring true”. I looked up its origin:

Ring false and the antonym, ring true, which means “seem genuine,” allude to the old practice of judging a coin genuine or fake by the sound it gives out when tapped. This practice became obsolete when coins ceased to be made of precious metals, but by then the idioms were being used to refer to other matters. [Mid-1800s]

The phrase ‘ring true’ takes on a lot of weight these days. Our media has worked overtime sensationalizing everything and simultaneously has avoided doing much factual investigation.
I don’t know about you, but I feel as though I’m in a never-ending game of “Gossip”.

To anyone who is unfamiliar with the game of Gossip, it starts with a phrase whispered into a person’s ear then that person hastily whispers it to the next and so on around a ring of several people. By the time it reaches person #1 again, the phrase’s words and meaning are completely different. It’s comical as a game but tragically lacking as a source of reliable information.

Our media is a ‘for profit’ group of businesses that rely on getting the public’s attention. So, using flashy, salacious, material, and misleading headlines, works well for them, especially in our fast-paced (short attention span) American society.
Clever a-moral people have discovered this lovely way to spread ideological propaganda AND make money. Worse than that, social media companies are “in” on it too by manipulating search engines and censoring sites who might ruin their hypnotic promotion of a single ideological message. I fear that a large number of people are becoming unwitting tools of a totalitarian movement. I also fear that our Constitutional Republic is in grave danger. Freedom of Speech and ‘thought diversity’ are the most essential elements of a free society. We’re losing them both at an alarming rate.
Those who question mass media information as not “ringing true” are being cancelled, arrested, and destroyed (many are now labeled domestic terrorists!) while a comfortably numb public doesn’t even notice… most don’t care to know. Seeking comfort, a group belonging, and a sense of virtuous superiority, has replaced the need to be ethical, reasonable, and truth seeking.
I know this sounds like a finger wagging rant and I suppose it is. Telling-it-like-it-is and pursuing Truth aren’t things I will watch die off without speaking my own mind.

Have a nice Saturday and please keep your ears, eyes, and minds open. Our country’s future needs your support. ❤

https://lindaghill.com/2022/09/16/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-17-2022/

I chose to experience this book in audio form and I’m glad I did. As someone who tries to grasp every morsel of a book, I may have become bogged down in it otherwise.
Unless you’ve had an excellent liberal arts education, the frequent world historical references may cause you to be Googling and/or refreshing your knowledge at the expense of the deep and well-described essence of the text. Within every reference is a clear explanation of the time period so you don’t have to recall all your own facts.
I’m blown away how (somewhat scarily) this book describes the intrinsic human tendency to drift toward totalitarianism and draws an undisputable correlation to our experiences before, during, and since, the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s been a perfect storm for our self-destructive behavior.
The book does not point fingers or make judgements but simply explains Mass Formation Psychosis.
In fact, I felt relieved that there isn’t likely organized malicious wrongdoing on a large scale, but instead, this phenomenon is arising from widespread fear and uncertainty. It’s dangerous and destructive just the same. But there’s actually a hopeful thread that makes our future seem less grim… yet still uncertain.
More than explaining just a psychological phenomenon, the book offers many reference-based cases and gets to the center of defining our humanity and human limitations in general.
[spoiler alert] Poets, artists, and Nature lovers just may be closer to the ‘truth’ of our existence than the dogmatically logic-based scientists.
I’m going to re-experience this fascinating book soon because all the enlightening and affirming information could not possibly be absorbed-to my liking- in one dose. You’ll definitely feel more educated once you read it.
If you’re curious, logical, anxious, or find yourself just shaking your head every day, this book is for you!

Here’s a short clip of the author explaining a sliver of his findings: