badgenome said:
I don't think it is all that oversimplistic. That was a bit of illustrative hyperbole, sure, but people being content to be ignorant and lose themselves in distractions for as long as they can is both basic human nature and the cause of many, probably most, societal and political problems. Most people only poke their heads up when their good time is interrupted, at which point they are ticked off and looking for something to kill so they can go back to normalcy ASAP. When 9/11 signalled an end to the heyday that was the '90s, it was, "Kill them ragfucks!" When Iraq turned into a clusterfuck there was a lot of, "Bush is Hitler! OMG, Bush must've done 9/11!" When the housing bubble burst, it was all, "Goddamn banks!" Everyone always suddenly fancies himself to be some kind of expert on this new and unfamiliar situation just because he has strongly held opinions about it, and very few people shut the hell up and bother to actually become educated on the complexities before coming to a conclusion about it. And that's the problem with a more representative democracy. Who is going to win a popularity contest, do you think? A smooth liar, or an unpolished but honest person? A guy who tries to contend with the vagueries of life and tells some unpleasant truths? Or a guy who promises easy explanations and quick solutions, complete with a devil onto whom all blame conveniently falls? |
Well, we both know the answer to that. Like I said, I'm not disagreeing with you but I don't think you realize that you are making lots of blanketed generalized statement. If the actual truth lies somewhere between white and black and one needs to fully understand a situation in order to form an opinion then you can't turn around and say things like "everyone does this, everyone does that." When even you know that is not accurate. Very few actual people think George Bush caused 9/11. I'm mostly liberal and I know that is just a conspiracy theory. That would be like me saying all billionaires are greedy useless scum buckets when I know people like Bill Gates and his wife spend their time and money trying to fight third world disease.
Two different educated people will often form two different opinions. Knowing the facts of a situation seldom changes anyone's mind. People believe what they want to believe and they reinforce those beliefs every chance that they get. I never really claim to know everything but I view the world around me and I come to my opinions. But you have to be very arrogant to say "I have it all figured out and anyone opposing me is just ignorant to the situation." Especially when opinions are usually subjective.
As far as distractions, you are a video gamer, I don't really think I need to address that. We all need escapism, that's why it exists. I'm not saying it is an excuse for apathy but it is normal to an extent.
