Darkness 121214

Politicians and media embrace simple explanations of events.  It could be that they are simple minded but its more likely that they are insulting the public with their self image of superiority.  It is easy to see that they often feel that the public is to stupid to notice their deceptions and outright lies in pursuit of their own agendas.

Unfortunately these gatekeepers of knowledge are not far wrong.  The public is complicit in its increasing ignorance.  In the not to distance past people read, anything and everything including many competing newspapers.  Newspapers were never all that trustworthy with, "just the facts" nor the truth but readers could usually pin down who said what, when, where, how and sometimes even why.   Print has fallen on sad times.  Remaining major newspapers have slipped from a hundred pages a day to maybe that many a week, even the comics have slimmed down.  Serious books once measured in pounds with thousands of pages have been replace by electronic books of 20 pages, 50 if there is enough sex included.

Politicians love the new reality; they can throw out a quick sound bite on any subject and deny they said it because it's not easy to track.  The electronic media love sound bites because they fit between commercials.  The public loves sound bites because they can seem intelligent without having to study or dirty their fingers with printer's ink.  Born and matured in the 20th century electronic media is casting darkness over the 21st century.

The reality is that events are the products of a confluence of many factors that react in a particular time and space moment. A plane crashed, the sound bite "pilot error." The facts might be the ground controller spilled hot coffee in his lap and lost focus while ice built up on the wings because a mechanic left a rag in a poorly designed vent and the pilot missed it all because he was studying the latest government regulation, get the picture? 

Television is blamed for the death of print, but think about it.  Buy a new four-foot television and tune into one of the many news shows for the latest jokes and sound bites.  There are three different messages speeding across the bottom of the screen while two more are crawling the other direction across the top, on the right is a column of some unrelated information.  Viewers are left watching a ten-inch picture of some visual while a disembodied voice talks about something else; confusion replaces enlightenment.  Independent studies have shown that people who receive all their news by television are less informed than people who receive no direct information. 

The new Dark Age will have bright lights, color, music and laughs but contribute little to knowledge.  Knowledge in the 21st century is not carved in stone nor inscribed on parchment.  A thousand years from now space travelers studying our century will open our time capsules and find biodegraded CDs.  Of course there may be a few isolated monks hiding in decaying libraries inscribing the decline and fall of mankind on a more permanent medium. Is there hope, sure light a candle in the darkness by demanding real explanations, debate and answers recorded in real libraries.