Thank you Al Gore for Liberating Me Too

[RestoreGore]

I cannot only imagine how freeing it is for Al Gore to not be constrained by political campaigns, handlers and schedules in his daily life, I can celebrate it because now that he is free of the pretense that goes with it, so am I as a supporter of his. I can let it rip too, and it feels good. No more pretending to like this process and defend it because he is in it. No more feeling the need to sit and argue endlessly over the past that accomplishes nothing in the way of taking action today on a true planetary emergency that trumps all of that triviality. No more feeling obligated to be a part of the sound bite rhetoric that comes with being a political cheerleader. No more being part of draft groups and other associations that try to hijack your thoughts, lie about you, and twist your intentions to suit their own personal wants and needs while they play the same dirty games politicians do.

I can now support this man with my conscience intact and with my heart and soul in the right place. And that is exactly what I am going to do now. As someone who has really always had my heart in supporting this planet as I have done so quietly for the last thirty years myself, it is truly freeing and wonderful to support a man who is now expressing that as well free from the bonds of the very factions that stifled his thoughts on this previously. As we constantly still see on blogs and other venues however, the past is something many people will never get over when it comes to “politics” and much time is expended uselessly in my view in petty arguing over it when the present sits waiting for a reply as the world sinks ever faster into an abyss we will not be able to climb out of unless we get down to business for real now.

In The Assault on Reason, Al Gore places much hope on the Internet and what it can accomplish in that vein as a bastion of freedom in opening a new door to a two way Democratic dialogue in this country that will hopefully lead to that action. And I agree with him that the Internet and its freedom must be preserved as that two way dialogue consisting of citizen journalism as well as debate which the media especially does not wish the people to have as it constrains them and exposes them. However, what good will it be if we are only expending our time on it in a two way dialogue discussing exactly what we see in their vapid reports? If we spend that time with the same 10 second sound bites we see in political campaigns? When we still see the same mean spirited tactics of political operatives displayed on our blogs and other venues with the intention of doing exactly what those nasty campaign ads do?

Should we then not strive to make the Internet not so much like the corporate media and the phony political process that it supports if it is to truly be a place where real Democratic debate followed by effective action happens? Why then is it that on many venues posts about Paris Hilton still get more attention and outrage than posts in which people actually wish to seriously discuss this planetary emergency? Why is it that those who express a sincere support for someone without political pretense are looked down on? Why are polls and the same sound bites we see on cable news shows still so prevalent on the Internet? I say it is not the system that is the problem, it is the people running it and engaging in it for the most part, which is why I support freely Mr. Gore’s endeavors outside of the political arena to change the hearts and minds of people regarding what is truly important now.

The Internet will only eventually be a place where video games, Slingo, useless gossip, and petty nasty political games will become prevalent if the truth we seek is not disseminated in such a way where the urgency of what this planet now faces is seen as paramount in our hearts and minds, to the point where actually emulating the corporate media does not become the downfall of our last bastion of freedom. But those who own the airwaves can still use the Internet as well, so there is our quandary in seeking to beat it.

The planetary emergency that we face now trumps Paris Hilton and ratings. It trumps draft buttons and shirts. It trumps campaigns. It trumps Slingo. It trumps anything else we can imagine right now that is part of this corporate complicit media that has done nothing but brainwash us for the last fifty years into such a stupor, that a percentage of people to this day even with the evidence staring them in their faces still believe that global warming is a hoax and that the government is truly looking out for our wellbeing and safety. So just exactly how are we to beat the all out assault on our reason if we give into the forces doing so even on the Internet?

Well, I think we must become free ourselves from the political pretenses that tend to shape our opinions and guilt us into being a certain person to support a certain candidate. I think we need to give the corporate media the boot on the Internet instead of giving them more airtime by falling into their trap. And I think we need to stop the nasty campaigning on blogs and other venues as they do on our television screens, and actually start discussing issues because we need to find solutions. And while I believe bickering over the past for the most part is futile, learning from it is something we can definitely do.

So thank you once again Mr. Gore for your leadership as a statesman and for now making it OK for supporters of yours to be free of the rhetoric as well that held you back without giving a damn about the backlash. It feels good.

[RestoreGore]

1. Marshall McLuhan , Bernard Lonergan and the Internet

The slogans "the medium is the massage" and "global village" are attributable to Mr. McLuhan, whose thoughts on cognitive responses to mediums are much like those expressed by Al Gore in The Assault on Reason. His book, The Gutenberg Galaxy is also worth reading. Bernard Lonergan is also noteworthy in light of discussing Mr. Gore's book, as he also articulated that at the empirical level of consciousness the medium is the message, whereas at the rational levels of consciousness the content is the message. Will the Internet in its content now fall into the same pattern as the corporate media in appealing predominantly to that empirical level, or will we who have the ability to control the content seek to appeal to that rational elevel where the content is the message? Again, I believe only if we ourselves are free from any pretenses can that be accomplished.

[johnaries]

2. I've only just started it, but already Gore has gone beyond

McLuhan. He admits that when he first read McLuhan's descriptions of "hot" and "cool" media he didn't quite understand it until later as his own experiences grew. But then he goes on to describe how consequential research has shown that ":hot" and "cool" media actually stimulate different parts of the brain. Print media stimulates the parts of the brain associated with Logic and reason. Words are nothing but symbols that our brains must translate into meaning, which requires Logical thinking (I had never thought of it that way). TV and moving images stimulate the "emotional" regions of the brain.

I loved how he went on to describe how our brains are wired to pay attention to movement. He says those those people gathered together on the African savannahs millions of years ago who did NOT notice the leaves moving next to them are NOT are ancestors.
:ROFL:

[RestoreGore]

4. I believe he has as well, but I do have other concerns...

LOL, I liked that too about the savannah... And the following paragraph after that is also very interesting: "Noticing sudden movement helped to alert the survivors to the presence of a predator, or to the nearness of prey, or to a potential mate. The ones who did notice passed on to us the genetic trait that neuroscientists call "the orienting response." And that is the brain syndrome continuously activated by television-sometimes as frequently as once per second. That is the reason the industry phrase glue eyeballs to the screen is actually more than a glib and idle boast. It is also a major part of the reason Americans watch the TV screen an average of four and a half hours a day."

And also, his talk of "heuristics" which is what psychologists have studied in how we make decisions with snap judgement based on emotional reactions like fear which can bypass the parts of our brain that govern reason was also very interesting and true, because it is exactly what has led us to this point. That is why I am now concerned that since the Internet has become a dominant medium though not the dominant medium still that telelvision is, it will fall into the same traps and patterns as television has regarding using the same influences. It is all very interesting to comtemplate in that context that as our mediums change, we do not.

And it is also true that the printing press had also changed social interaction and people's way of thinking, as cognitive responses up to that time for the most part were based on word of mouth rather than print and their own direct experiences in getting the information. Even in Roman times the town cryer so to speak who stood up in the middle of town and gave announcements (for sure the way the Caesars wanted them announced) was also the only source of news Romans had and they were led to believe that was all there was and they ned not question it. So this isn't anything new in practice as it has been going on for centuries.

The entire psychological end to all of this is fascinatiing and as we see with political campaigns and advertisements to this day, they seek to appeal to the cognitive responses they believe we will not be able to fight by appealing to those specific areas of the brain in making us believe that we don't just want their product, but that we need it. And that is exactly what Bush and his henchmen did in consulting these kinds of people in packaging their war and advertising to the masses by using fear to make them believe that we needed this war and don't need to do anything about the climate crisis. It most definitely was and still is an assault on reason.

[johnaries]

8. The Internet can be just as emotion-driven and void of reason

as TV. Just look at Michele Malkin's site and FreeRepublic (if you really want to...).
I think the most important thing is that we are simply AWARE that there are some people using these as propaganda tools. Once the majority of the Public is aware, then it will be easier for them to recognize when someone is using these techniques as propaganda tools. Simply being aware of the possibility makes one question more. And questioning what you see and hear is the first step in opening a discussion.

[RestoreGore]

11. Exactly...

And we are now open to the same psychological barages on the Internet in the way of ads ( which make pop up blockers essential ;-)) and other stimuli that appeal to those basest of emotional reflexes as TV with sites like You Tube ( I exclude CURRENT from that analogy because they are about quality and not quantity) and other sites that do not measure content but quantity, so as you say, being aware of that is a first step to avoiding the same pitfalls. Knowledge is power and with that power comes great responsibility, but also with that knowledge must come a self awareness of how we contribute to what we see and hear regardless of the medium we use by our own actions. Thanks for your conversation.

[johnaries]

12. Thank you for yours!

It's amazing how with reasoned discussion people can find agreement. ;)

[RestoreGore]

14. Yes, and we sure need more of that

[johnaries]

3. One thing about the "Paris" threads.

Obviously, the Paris threads are here because of the spill over from TV coverage. Many of the opinions stated are definitely based on purely emotinal responses, which helps to illistrate Gore's point that TV stimulates the emotional regions of the brain.
However, at least here the whole Paris issue creates a dialogue, a discussion. Slowly, logic and reason creeps in. Some whose opinions are based on a purely emotional response now find they must find logical reasons to defend their position. This sometimes means that they must twist logic a little to defend their positions, which is what we often see on the Conservative side in Conservative arguments.
So, I'm not going to say that Paris threads didn't serve some kind of purpose. But, it is time to get on to more relevant issues.

[RestoreGore]

5. Point taken, but I don't see reason creeping in regarding it...

it is pure gossip and media hype to me and has no place in a reasoned discourse. But of course, I do understand your point and that some actually used it to make a more cogent point which is fine. I just wish the climate crisis got as much attention.

[johnaries]

9. "I just wish the climate crisis got as much attention."

Hey, no argument there! :hi:

[RestoreGore]

15. Well, that's a relief ;-)

Seems that's all some want to do of late. Thanks again.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

6. Please calm down

There are other issues besides global warming.

[RestoreGore]

7. Not to me

Now hopefully you will go and do some work on the issues you think are so important.

[InvisibleTouch]

10. Ah, but if we don't address the climate crisis...

...the other issues are moot.

[Raksha]

Yeah, but global warming needs to go on the front burner NOW!

Actually it needed to go on the front burner 10 years ago, but many of those "other issues" are related to it directly or indirectly, because they have to do with the politics of obstruction and denial.

I live in Southern California, which is now suffering from the worst drought we've ever had. Up north they had a very wet year and flooding last year, but this year they are having problems with drought also. But it's not as bad as it is here, where for all practical purposes fire season started as soon as the rain stopped (what little rain we had anyway.

So reality is finally overtaking the climate denial industry, but the question remains: What are we gonna do about it? I have to admit it makes me feel kind of helpless. As Al Gore knows better than anyone, nothing less than a focused GLOBAL effort will save us. But that requires governments as well as individuals to see the need for it. The question is, WILL THEY?

Edited to add: This was meant to be a response to reply #6, not the OP.

[Uncle Joe]

13. I agree with RestoreGore,

the Global Warming Crisis is the paramount issue and if that's not addressed, nothing else matters. I noticed your home and I would hate to see Florida go under water and that would only be one side effect.