Jeff:Thank you for your response.That is very helpful.Best regards,WaldemarWaldemar A Schmidt, PhD, MD
(Perseveret et Percipiunt)
503.631.8044
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. (A Einstein)
Apparently, we have some evidence of that already.############################Afraid I don’t share your implication that the Constitution is a piece of printed paper or a fantasy.Waldemar A Schmidt, PhD, MD
(Perseveret et Percipiunt)
503.631.8044
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. (A Einstein)
On Oct 19, 2018, at 6:05 PM, JA Martineau <[log in to unmask]> wrote:A very interesting observation regarding elites Waldemar.It seems clear that the American Founding was based upon a collective agreement among the elites that the Printing Press was authoritative regarding how one should organize a state and that the resulting culture was to be defended at all costs: recalling that Jefferson defended the Declaration upon the notion that the ethics within had not sprung from his own as originally but were root and branch of the modern West. Madison, Hamilton and Jay implicitly acknowledged the same in their Federalist defense of the Constitution by way of “opinions” of man.Of course, their were “formed” by the “ground” upon which they lived, or the psycho environment of the Printing Press which was the basis of the West at the time.These were elites reflecting the ground and attempting to shape a society.Indeed, the idea that elites would do just this had been widely known throughout Western History, beginning with Athens and the Elesinian Mysteries (mandatory as was the organic LSD laced drink) with the Carolingian Renaissance being perhaps the most obvious example of “creating” the West by “retrieving” the Grammar or foundations and then devising an education for the very young, the first Grammar school education based upon the Cathedral schools of the time.We used to understand that elites came together and made the decisions, based upon the “media” environment or “authority,” of the time, that everyone else lived their lives by: the rules of the road so to speak. This is exactly would Winston Churchill saw himself: of course I lead so that others can simply live their lives and not have to think about things they know nothing about.Elite theory used to be a well understood area of study in political sociology (one of my areas of study): Pareto, Mosca, C. Wright Mills, Domhoff, Robert Putnam, Theodor Adorno and James Burnham are some names to think of, as is the notion of the Anglo-American Establishment, the name of Carroll Quigley’s book that Bill Clinton claimed had influence upon him. Burnham is of particular insight in his observations that the West has moved from “class” to “mass” by the early 20th century, though he did not know exactly why (it was the effects of electricity in the forms of the Telegraph and Radio and then Television as the “authority”). Putnam is famous for observing that late 20th century man had gone into their separate rooms (the effects of TELEVISION, as McLuhan described it).The notion that the common people would somehow shape or organize a society would have seemed to go against the history of humanity.By the 1960s, elites by and large stopped being the societal force they had been, to the chagrin of Nelson Rockefeller. What happened? The effects of TELEVISION on our psyche/minds/formation. To paraphrase Aristotle, “the City” did it!Television was both designed and had the effects of killing what we think of as elites as anything more than “opinion” leaders. Which is to say, people that made it into television, but knew virtually nothing other than how to get on television.This brings us to the group Gregg has pointed to us today in his blog and associated articles. Who are these people?A look at their official bios on their website, which Gregg linked to, tells us exactly what they are up to: Euro/globalist/tech/MEDIA types which much experience in crafting “stories” or narratives. Not surprising. It’s the environment they were formed by in the West.This is Plato: man is the fundamental problem and he needs the right stories to undercut his senses. It’s Television: create a new fantasy and we can have peace and buy stuff! It’s Dialectic not Grammar. And in the DIGITAL Paradigm, it does not work (see Soros’ laments), but there is still money to be spent and made on it: Television era Democracy (the con that people are “deciding” and saving themselves in the process).So it brings up THE fundamental Aristotlian question: what will the “ethics” and “politics” be in the era when the young’s psyche/souls are “formed” by Digital/algorithms/Robots, or Memory, and fantasy/storytelling is rejected?--A suggestion:############################We have and were previously guided by an ideological center - The US Constitution.But now, we seem to eschew that guide - why?Perhaps, it is because we, as individuals, have become confused about the nature and place of our own personal beliefs, values, and goals vis-a-vis our own public beliefs, values, and goals.For instance, I am not in favor of abortion, in general (though I recognize its place and use).But, I recognize that my personal opinion is different from my public opinion thereon because the choice belongs to another person - because that other person has person-related rights that are not constrained by the Constitution.In other words, I don’t want to participate but that doesn’t mean that another person might not want or need to do so.Others, however, seem to feel their personal beliefs, values, and goals trump (pun intended) another person’s beliefs, values, and goals - as well as that other person’s dignity, well-being, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Substitute another “issue” for abortion - such as gay marriage, etc.The end seems to be the same - you (the other person) have to live by MY rules (ie, you are duty bound to sustain MY worldview) - it’s the OR ELSE that seems to be getting nastier and nastier.It’s a physics problem, narrow worldviews seem to have immense inertia! and are not malleable.But, I agree with Andre - we sure don’t seem to be using, or even looking for, an ideological center.Best regards,WaldemarWaldemar A Schmidt, PhD, MD
(Perseveret et Percipiunt)
503.631.8044
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. (A Einstein)
Great blog, Gregg. What stands out the most to me is "Unfortunately, there is no clear ideological center for the majority to rally around.” That is what we really seem to need.andreFrom: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]edu> on behalf of "Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: tree of knowledge system discussion <[log in to unmask]edu>
Date: Friday, October 19, 2018 at 9:12 AM
To: "[log in to unmask]JMU.EDU" <[log in to unmask] edu>
Subject: Hidden Tribes/More in Common############################Hi List,I just posted a blog offering a very strong endorsement of a new political report. I STRONGLY encourage EVERYONE to check it out. From my vantage point, it is hitting on a key analysis and solution to one of the great challenges of our day.Here is my blog:Here is the report:Here is the organization it is from:Here are two other articles on it:Please check this group (More In Common) and report out when you get the time.Here is to achieving a more connected, united, and resilient group!
Best,
GreggTo unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:TOK-SOCIETY-L-[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/EDU cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY- L&A=1 To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:TOK-SOCIETY-L-
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[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A= 1 Jeffrey A. Martineau############################
Vice President for Development
Center for the Study of Digital Life
www.digitallife.center
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