Posted by Wayne Parham [ 64.216.179.231 ] on August 28, 2005 at 07:25:38:
There's a common thread that runs through many of our discussions here, and I'd like to tie the ends together, if I can. At least, this is my impression, how I see things today.
Everybody that posts here regularly is a pretty stand up guy. We're a bunch of friends, when it all boils down to it. And we're idealists, every one of us.
We don't dig on the BS we've seen around us. One of the places we express this is audio. We don't buy the latest fad just 'cause some marketer tells us its hot. We don't much care for reviewers, salesmen or over zealous promoters. We evaluate things for ourselves, thank you very much.
Same goes for our beliefs about social structures, religion, politics and things like that.
Remember when you were a kid? You may have been even more idealistic then. Naive, probably, but that also means innocent. OK, not so innocent but you know what I mean. For the most part, you hadn't become fixed in your views. In fact, you couldn't care much about anything except what was next in front of you. Politics probably didn't interest you. Religion was boring. Girls and cars, music and a bit of mayhem. That was pretty much what life was all about.
Then you started looking at the things we all look at when growing up. You have to look at career and family, because being a beatnik gets old after a while. The pay sucks, so the food, room and board does too.
But even then, religion and politics weren't high on the list of things that occupied your thoughts. It was pretty much still dominated by girls, cars and music. You made room for the career by moving out some of the mayhem.
'Bout then, you started looking at the beliefs of your parents. Their politics and maybe their religion started being a little more interesting to you. There were probably other influences too. Sometime in your mid to late twenties, you probably at least recognized some of the issues and players, and maybe even grasped some of their views. But still, it was not that high on the list.
By your mid thirties, it had become more of a focal point. You understood the rhetoric, and even adopted some of it as your own. You identified with some of it and had begun to take a side.
I was thinking about all this because of the talk about politics here in the Dungeon and in the Tower. It makes me think of another thing that is kind of similar. It's a smaller scale politic, but one that is played much the same way.
I got away from the last discussion board I frequented, because it just seemed like it was nothing but gypsies, tramps and thieves. That's not really fair - There were several good people there too, most of whom were just naive to the game playing, and innocent enough to overlook the garbage. But there was plenty of garbage, and it was thrown about a lot. I was surprised, because it wasn't just kids, some of the folks doing it were people you would have respected if you couldn't see behind the scenes.
You'll find zealous promoters pushing their stuff, being a little too manipulative sometimes. A promoter may overstate capabilities, he may push the limits on what and where he says things. He might even fabricate data, or at least "massage" it to make it look better. Call the public's bluff, invite them to verify the data knowing full well that most people can't and others won't. This isn't just marketers either, engineers and scientists often look only at datasets that confirm their pet theories, turning aside those that aren't favorable to them. You might see a guy tempted to post reviews of his own products, using a pseudonym, posing as someone else. Or you might see them defending themselves using sockpuppets and shills, making it appear that the public is behind them. Those are all things that you'll see.
It occurs to me that this same thing happens in politics. In fact, it must happen even more, because the stakes are higher. In politics, it gets really insidious. It has been that way throughout history. Men will stop at nothing to gain power. It's almost like a disease, one that pumps a man up with adrenaline. It just runs away with itself.
Whether in a local audio users group or a national political convention, some of these same sorts of things happen. It usually starts innocently enough.
A guy writes a fake post telling how great his product is. No harm done, he thinks, because the product really is great and he's just trying to get the word out. He wants people to think it's popular because he's sure it should be. He fabricates data, or bends the truth to the breaking point to promote his agenda. Or he defends himself using a pseudonym, posing as someone else. Maybe he senses that someone else is badgering him behind the mask of a sockpuppet pseudonym, so he returns in kind.
A political activist leaks a story to the media, one that outrages an already sensitive public. He's sure it's done for the "right reasons." A politically motivated journalist fabricates a story using "anonymous sources" that he is sworn to protect. He justifies this because, after all, the ends justify the means. A military action is taken to divert public attention away from the real issues, something that those in power really need to remain undetected. This is important, national security is at stake.
In the audio field, it's gypsies, tramps and thieves fabricating stories and manipulating public perception to increase popularity or make a sale. In politics, the same things happen, but probably at a much larger scale. In fact, wars and military actions are just politics done by force, so people die to promote political agendas. It has been that way for millennia.
These are all lies. They're con artists using tricks to manipulate the public. When that proves ineffective, they become bullies that beat the public into submission.
Now think a minute, before conspiracy stories pop into your mind, the Illuminati at the roots of the Trilateral Commission running the whole world and all that jazz. Don't go there. But do think about this: Think about how very desensitized we are to the very act of manipulation. We don't see it as being particularly bad, and we sort of accept it as long as it doesn't cross some imaginary line. So the good promoter looks for ways to push the limits of what the public will accept. Think about advertising and political campaigns, two things that are at their very nature wholly and completely about conning the public into buying whatever you're selling. So we're all used to being conned, and we accept it. It's only when that imaginery line of decency is crossed that we consider it deceptive.
When you see a lady on television saying, "Hey Madge, you're soaking in it", do you really think that Palmolive liquid could make a claim that it was actually good as a skin softener? It's a dish soap, for crissake. When the Maytag repairman acts bored and lonely, do we really think Maytag products are so supernaturally reliable that millions of machines are sold and none needs service? Of course not, they are two popular facades that were used to promote a product. We all saw them as harmlessly deceptive, clever and fun. Tiny little white lies. They stayed in our minds, in this case, for decades. So they worked. Were they honest? No. But they worked. As a manipulative ploy, they worked.
So when a politician says a little white lie, his supporters can easily make the case that it's forgiveable. It's an exageration, maybe an equivocation. Just barely, not a lie. They can say it's not important and we'll probably overlook it. Unless of course it's the side we don't agree with, in which case we'll exaggerate their every defect, an exaggeration in the opposite direction. The defenders will attack those that question the little white lie, saying the detractors are evil. That's a clever con that every side uses. Turn the argument by shooting the messenger. Evil naysayers and all that.
Here's where I'm going with all this. Our tolerance level is way, way up there where manuipulation is concerned. We tolerate it, even encourage it in some circles. So it isn't surprising that we should try so hard to win arguments with "opponents," even if we aren't directly involved. We're socially programmed to do that. I say, take a minute and look at it. Examine what you really know, and set it apart from what you believe because of your environment, what you've heard, what you think, maybe as far back as what your parents thought. Just drop it. Don't draw a line in the sand about stuff that you don't have direct experience with.
Does any of you really think that your favorite political affiliation is any less manipulative, any less guilty of deception, any less power hungry, any less corrupt than the other "side"? Is it really acceptable to say the ends justify the means? If not, then how can any of us get so argumentative about a political agenda? I know, it feels like an argument is needed, but why exactly does it feel that way? Will beating an opponent in a political argument change anything in a positive way?
I mean, I don't really care what is discussed in the Dungeon. Everybody can talk politics all they want. They can talk about technology or bio-chemistry or religion or dishwashing liquid in the Dungeon, that's cool. It's your forum, do what you want. We're all friends here.
But, man, I'd a lot rather stay out of political or religious debates. I don't want to try to talk any of you into my religion or my politics. I mean, I'm just as excitable as anyone, and I'm tempted to become fired up about some political or philosophical issue. But what good does it do? If I could help someone in some sort of discussion, that would be one thing. If I'm learning something, or pondering something new, it's helpful to brainstorm. Or if it is an interesting discussion, that's another reason to talk. Some discussions are just fascinating. But if I'm just trying to talk someone into my beliefs or ideals, religion or politics, I mean, why? I wonder why we become so attached to things like that.
One last thing I'm going to say and then I'll shut up. Order this movie and watch it. It's an old one, and you may have already seen it. If so, watch it again. If not, check it out.
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