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Mrs Rodin is reading Kerry Howley's book,
The challenge for government these days is not whether they can rummage through your life electronically, but whether they can sift an enormous landfill of data to find what they are looking for. And at some level we all know this and react to it in ways that limit our lives even as technology is making life "easier". And this is a problem.
We know not to make "bomb jokes" in the security line or anywhere at an airport. We have to consider whether to visit the ATM before making a specific purchase with our credit card if we want to limit government from knowing what or how much of a particular item we might be buying.
There are many accounts of the death of comedy -- the fact that comedians will no longer book campus gigs. There the fear is not of government (and least not since Lenny Bruce) but of the minions of a miseducation system that will populate our society with limited speech and thought options. The thought-limited product of this society are the future government workers who will be pawing through all existing data at some future date.
Most of us deal with this reality by ignoring it most of the time. We live our lives generating more data for government and corporate consumption. And just like ripping down the highway at 100 miles per hour it's all good until you blow a tire or meet a sharp curve. But just like photos of bodies ejected from a car wreck make you put on your seatbelt, the zeitgeist is there to tell us to be careful about how we act and what we say.
Mrs Rodin often remarks that our society tolerated cranks and complainers more than it does today. People don't raise their voices much unless they are in a group where everyone is doing so. Service personnel don't mollify customer complaints anymore; the response "I won't be treated like this" is more common than "I am so sorry, what can I do to make it better".
And why is this? Have we become more civil? I don't think so. We have just become more aware. Aware that what we say and do can be (are) videotaped, recorded, stored, transmitted and eternally available to harm us.
In effect we live in fear. Fear of what our government can and will do to us; fear of being cancelled --socially, economically, and politically.
We ignore that fear a lot of the time, possibly foolishly. But it is there, just like tinnitus. It makes us impose limits on our own lives.
We tell ourselves it is prudence, and not fear. But is it prudential to not confront evil and lies? Is it prudential to lose our civil rights? Is it prudential to cooperate with disarming our populace? Is it prudential to lose self-government?
Our nation needs a rebirth of fearlessness. Bullies are not fearless, they simply take advantage of fear. If you want less bullying show less fear. Yes, if you are the only one to step forward, you get the bullet. But if you step forward maybe someone else will as well. And then someone else, and someone else...until too many have stepped forward for the bully to control.
My wish for 2024 is to be fearless.
Discussion (10)
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I finally cancelled our subscription to the digital Orlando Sentinel. I rarely read it, except to see what the latest attacks were on DeSantis. But they have a bizarre process where, even though I have auto-renew, they interrupt my subscription to verify my certification about every quarter. I put up with it because I wanted their puzzle section, but they required recertifying on Jan.1--and of course their offices were closed. That was it. I called to cancel the subscription. When she asked why, instead of pulling back (even though I knew it wasn't her fault), I told her the rigamarole was ridiculous, it was just a way to force me to get the regular paper (which I despise), that recertifying is nonsense and I encouraged her to tell her bosses (which she probably won't do). I figure this was an opportunity for me to practice pushing back on stupid requests; I expect I'll be doing that more often. We can choose to be fearless.
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I just finished reading an unusually good post, and here is another one!
Keep it up, Ricochet-persons! Do not weary in well-doing.
Susan, your experience with your newspaper is eerily like our own! All the way down to the puzzles being the only thing of value left in the thin smelly pile of proggy rubbish that the Cincinnati Enquirer has become. (Puzzles, plus “Pickles” and only about four other non-Marxist-propaganda comic strips, now that these wretched fascists have purged Scott Adams and Dilbert.)
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I'm thinking of writing a letter to the Editor in Chief and to the Content Editor, to tell them why I find their paper so reprehensible. I will try to use my best manners, yet tell the truth.
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Under the heading of Sad But True…
I know that I consciously self-censor much more frequently than I ever did before. There was always simple requirements at work like not saying “FU” until after hanging up the phone (or ending the Zoom meeting) But what I’m thinking of goes much farther.
I never, ever, discuss current events nor politics (especially politics) at work or with anyone from work. My employer has rather rigorous social media restrictions and rather than risking running afoul of some wokester in HR, I restrict my social media presence to posting officially released facts and figures. The RICOCHET member environment is the only place I express any opinion. Perhaps after I retire…. But until then, loose lips can cost me my paycheck …. And I still need that.
It’s called the ‘chilling effect’ in Constitutional law. It’s supposed to be avoided. A vigorous democracy requires a free exchange of ideas. But at least since Obama, it’s a feature not a bug. Color me blue. I’m chilled.
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Boy, this sounds so … Soviet? Is that the word? The kind of fear we read about in school but couldn’t believe people would put up with. Yet here we are.
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