Saturday, October 14, 2006

What is Destroying the Mainstream Media

During the election season, the newspapers become a cheap way of spreading lies and propaganda sympathetic to the liberal/Democrat point of view -- because their editors and writers are convinced that their own liberal/Democrat point of view is the highest form of understanding -- rather than the narrow provincialism it is like with any other self-righteousness, that even university professors are susceptible to. In fact, it is often the case, the highest priests of even secular understanding, can be easily convinced of their own superiority to every other being, understanding and lifestyle -- because it serves their own self-interest and vanity.

Then, any action can be justified -- once they begin with those preconclusions, that whatever they do is right -- because it serves their own self-interests -- as society’s only reason for being. Thereafter, the logic gets even more ludicrous -- and self-serving, which becomes its own end.

That form of society is not democracy -- though most will call themselves “Democrats,” but oligarchy -- a society run by and that only serves a few, permanently and irrevocably. Any change to that plan of self-serving aggrandizement, is an absolute “wrong,” “kapu”, taboo, grounds for expulsion from the Garden of Eden, etc. While history never repeats itself, the themes are universal and timeless.

“Never challenge authority.” “Never challenge the elders,” “Never challenge seniority.” “Never question the status quo.” “Don’t rock the boat.” “Don’t fix what ain’t broken.” And a long list of moral imperatives and “truisms,“ that are indoctrinated as commonsense.

That is the real problem of our “education” system -- that it really is this indoctrination of acceptance of the status quo, rather than the proper function of education -- which is to question it, and in doing so, improve society by increasing its understanding -- and not by defining the limits of inquiry. That is the failure of education all across the board -- from kindergarten to the Ph.D. programs -- if they never question authority, seniority, the status quo of knowledge -- but merely pay homage to long ago discovered truths as though nothing further was possible.

The golden age of liberalism was the 19th century, and the 20th century should have been its death -- when all those liberals claiming to be enlightened and thus know better, assumed control of many countries and then began the systematic elimination of all those who were “politically incorrect” -- which eventually ran into the hundreds of millions of people, who could not be “socialized” properly.

By contrast, since the dawn of the 21st century, losses have been minimal by keeping such “liberal” ideologies in check -- except for the reminders we see of would-be demagogues on the editorial pages of the local newspapers.

5 Comments:

At October 16, 2006 9:07 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

“What we call learning is a continuous process of adjusting, resisting, subjugating; we learn either to avoid or to gain something. Now, is there a state in which the mind is not the instrument of learning but of being? Do you see the difference? As long as we are acquiring, getting, avoiding, the mind must learn, and in such learning there is always a great deal of tension, resistance. To learn you must concentrate, must you not? And what is concentration?

Have you ever noticed what happens when you concentrate on something? When you are required to study a book which you don’t want to study, or even if you do want to study, you have to resist and put aside other things. You resist the inclination to look out of the window, or to talk to somebody, in order to concentrate. So in concentration there is always effort, is there not? In concentration there is a motive, an incentive, an effort to learn in order to acquire something; and our life is a series of such efforts, a state of tension in which we are trying to learn. But if there is no tension at all, no acquiring, no laying up of knowledge, is not the mind then capable of learning much more deeply and swiftly? Then it becomes an instrument of inquiry to find out what is truth, what is beauty, what is God -- which means really, that it does not submit to any authority, whether it is the authority of knowledge or society, of religion, culture or conditioning.

You see, it is only when the mind is free from the burden of knowledge that it can find out what is true; and in the process of finding out, there is no accumulation, is there? The moment you begin to accumulate what you have experienced or learnt, it becomes an anchorage which holds your mind and prevents it from going further. In the process of inquiry the mind sheds from day to day what it has learnt so that it is always fresh, uncontaminated by yesterday’s experience. Truth is living, it is not static, and the mind that would discover truth must also be living, not burdened with knowledge or experience. Then only is there that state in which truth can come into being.

All this may be difficult in the verbal sense, but the meaning is not difficult if you apply your mind to it. To inquire into the deeper things of life, the mind must be free; but the moment you learn and make that learning the basis of further inquiry, your mind is not free and you are no longer inquiring.”

Krishnamurti,
Think On These Things

 
At October 16, 2006 10:07 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

Next Candidates Forum for me is Wednesday, October 18, 7 PM at Liliuokalani Elemntary School -- at Koko Head Avenue and Waialae. I think I might have identified it as across from Sacred Hearts Academy in an initial announcement.

Those continue to be very enjoyable and I'm getting back into the practice of public speaking -- which I used to do quite a bit, so I don't blame the opposition for not showing up. But if they do, it's an enjoyable time for them too as I don't see it as a personally comeptitive event -- to see how people can discuss government and politics freshly and dynamically.

I think the old government jargon and ritualized process is what keeps people away in droves from attending and participating. That's why I am the sensation on this year's politicl talk circuit.

And then beginning on October 19th, I have a fairly indicative 5 minute presentation on Olelo's Channel 49, Candidates in Focus. You can check http://www.olelo.org/programming/ for their 5-day advanced programming schedule.

Then from time to time, they rebroadcast my landmark video on exercise and conditioning, Understanding Conditioning, which is usually the major reason people recognize me.

Just as in my writing, I deliberately DON'T say what everybody else has said before. Somebody commented that I was a better speaker than I am a writer -- to which I retorted, "I'm the best writer in the world."

To which he responded, "Still, you're a better public speaker than you are a writer."

I'm kind of a cross between Linda Lingle and Krishnamurti.

 
At October 16, 2006 10:22 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

Liliuokalani Elementary School is NOT the one across from Sacred Hearts Academy; that is Aliiolani Elementary.

Koko Head and Waialae is that area known as Top of the Hill in Kaimuki -- across from the 360 Restaurant.

Some of the candidates, but particularly the sponsors, have been disappointed by the turnouts at many of these forums -- which manage their usual turnouts rather than drawing in new participants.

So hopefully, they do the public access television thing. And of course, many tell me they've checked out this blog -- and are impressed.

We still have to seal the deal by actually VOTING!

 
At October 16, 2006 11:08 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

I left San Francisco just before they had the Big One and Seattle, just before they had the Big One.

Usually they start to increase in frequency and severity before a climatic Big One -- so when I noticed that familiar rattling yesterday morning, from my experience, it was a fairly mild event -- and the only thing that made it significant and disruptive was that it knocked out the electricity throughout the state.

That in itself is pretty disruptive in this day and age -- but probably not as disruptive as it would be just about anywhere else in the world. Probably the "homeless" didn't notice anything different at all.

These kinds of events take place all the time. That's pretty much the total extent of the damage of the Quake of 2006; everybody should be so lucky.

 
At October 16, 2006 11:20 AM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

I thought those LED flashlights I got last week might come in handy.

It's a nice feeling to have abundant light when there's a shortage of it.

If you buy five, you get the sixth one free. Ranch 99 Market shopping mall in Mapunapuna -- next to the Post Office.

Those electric scooters may be the ideal thing for the 72 hour door to door blitz.

 

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