Gregg:
Thanks - as always, the problem is whether what is actually going on
is what people "think" is going on (and then justify themselves on
that account) . . . <g>
As we all seem to agree hereabouts (at least none seem to dissent), we
have already entered a period of transition from one technologically
driven *paradigm* to another. That is the "ground" of all these
developments, regardless of how people might, more superficially,
justify their behaviors and attitudes under these circumstances.
In fact, if the psychology of the 20th-century has taught us anything,
it would appear to be that the "unconscious" drives our lives --
typically without our "conscious" awareness of what is happening to
us. But that's not enough; it's far more consequential than that . .
. !!
We actively *refuse* to understand what is going on out of our need
for "self-preservation." Reality -- particularly the reality of the
psychological *ground* of our lives being upended and even radically
contradicted -- is far too threatening for most people to deal with.
Indeed, lacking responsibility for that reality, why should they want
to directly deal with it at all?
Many have proposed ideas about how this operates and, for my Center,
McLuhan's explanations ring the most true. In particular, in a letter
to Jacques Maritain in 1969, he said --
"There is a deep-seated repugnance in the human breast against
understanding the processes in which we are involved. Such
understanding implies far too great responsibility for our actions."
Trump is an epiphenomenon of the current *paradigm* shift -- from
TELEVISION to DIGITAL (which is why I could "predict" this would
happen in 2013 at the Pentagon.) So are the parallel developments in
the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden &c. His status as "a
combination of rock star and folk hero" is a superficial description
of how people feel "unconsciously" about this shift. The whole idea
of an "American Dream" is, as the phrase implies, not something that
happens in "waking" realty. Like all "dreams" it is a product of our
"unconscious," which, in turn, is a product of the technologies we
habitually use and that "shape our sensibilities."
When turned into something that can be discussed "consciously," it
inevitably becomes something like "the government conspiracy of the
century" -- another statement of the famous 1967 Buffalo Springfield
lyric, "There's something happening here; what it is ain't exactly
clear . . . "
This AM Kai-Fu Lee started his book-tour for "Ai Superpowers: China,
Silicon Valley and the New World Order." There is no "American Dream"
anymore. The robots *are* going to take our jobs. And, Trump cannot
stop (or perhaps even understand) any of this.
The author of this opinion piece apparently has no clue that any of
this is going on, other than appearances and "figures." Arguably
neither does Trump. The question, however, for this group is do we .
. . ??
Mark
Quoting "Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx" <[log in to unmask]>:
> Hi List,
>
> Saw this Op Ed this morning and thought I would share.
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.reviewjournal.com_opinion_opinion-2Dcolumns_wayne-2Dallyn-2Droot_the-2Dconspiracy-2Dagainst-2Dpresident-2Dtrump_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=zwFvmQrwETl_tvYpcbJIk-8ZYdLKjGnRxhwSIIy7KXQ&s=4a7vuMhPtRTMYA19RimTRnjZsNly376PtfAJTBQEexU&e=
>
> There clearly are lots of "justification narratives" operating in
> our country at this juncture.
>
> Best,
> Gregg
>
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