Sociopathic Media

Here is a brief rundown on modern social media, which essentially are the places where ordinary people publish words of one kind or another as if they really knew what they were doing. Meanwhile, older mass media whither and die. In the dying, they desperately try to stave off bankruptcy by getting evermore radical and departed from truth. Sensationalism is not truth, you know. It is the extreme part of life, and those who direct the making of these stories, some of which, oddly enough, are called "reality" shows, are extremists of an ilk similar to Taliban warriors.

They carve out a reality that represents only a minor part of most people's lives. Charles Dickens would be left speechless at the representations made by American extremists.

So on one hand, we have the old mass media pushed to the extremes of sensationalism, as if we all ate bugs and won millions and died in a shoot out. And we have the new individualistic media where any idiot can pretend he has Buddha's wisdom and Clint Eastwood's courage.

Here is the rich mulch laden, dung fertilized garden that spawns the distortions that have become the rule, the norm, the sociopathic standard of the rich American lifestyle:

• Chat rooms: The place for one liners and jokes and top-of-mind sharing of knowledge and ideas. It is where show-offs can shine with little one-liners. It is a good place to meet girls, too. Or boys, if that is your direction.

• Blog sites: The place where subjects are presented with more depth and breadth. This is a place to learn and engage in intelligent conversation. Alas, too many twits view blog sites as elaborate chat rooms and a chance to show off their personal wit and wisdom, engaging in win/lose discussions rather than ADDING anything to the educational aspect of the site.

• Facebook, etc.: A good place to show off in more elaborate terms with pictures and stories that make it seem like we are really cool people. Then we click off and go take our anti-depression pills to stave off suicide, because others do it better.

• Twitter: The place where headlines pretend to be the whole story.

• You tube: The place where we satisfy our perverse desire to spy on others.

• Commercial Internet Sites: The place where people try to make money out of nothing. Dire Strait wrote the theme song, about ways to get money for nothing and chicks for free.

Doing my best imitation of U.S. Republican candidate Rick Santorum, I declare the Internet to be a medium of Satan, for it brings us porn and a way for terrorists to communicate. It lures teens into sex traps set by dirty old men posing as hot guys, and it is an easy way for married people to scrape up a date with a certified home wrecker. It is evil because it allows Barak Obama to raise millions at $5 a pop.

The nerve, not having to sell his soul to pharmaceutical companies and banks like those "real" Americans: Republicans.

The Philippines is just ramping up its internet access. The internet café is a staple of a bright young kid's life. He can play games there and hide out from the relentless drudge of schools that force feed the same old irrelevant, backward stuff from a century ago.

I can't figure out why there is no creative drive in the Philippines, no productive drive. Why the Department of Education somehow associates quality education with more hollow block school buildings and mediocre teachers. Why educators can't teach aspiration and fairness and courtesy.

Actually, I can.  And have.

That will be in an upcoming blog.

JoeAm takes his personal discovery to the core, dissecting the Filipino soul.

Gather your friends. Huddle your masses. But send the kids to the other room. This is not for them. It's gory folks. It's real gory.