Politics And Journalism Joined At The Hip By Intellectual Sloth

(Updated below) (Update II)

As I have written before, intellectual sloth reaps ignorance. In turn, ignorance festers fear which, as we know all-too-well, acts as a powerful motor in driving irrational thinking and actions. Furthermore, fear is quite expert in the exercise of nullifying any semblance of intellectual and emotional maturity in people – in other words, fear transforms a supposedly adult person into an irresponsible, reactionary, intolerant, judgement-impaired, and comfort-craving, child (or adolescent). One who searches for easy and absolute answers, who demands his instant gratifications.

Incidentally, the search for the quick-and-easy and instant gratification fuels egotism, lure of gain, covetousness and greed which, in turn, stimulate further the search for instant gratification ... and so on. Consequently, the prevalence of the search for the quick-and-easy, and thus prevalence of intellectual sloth, constitutes a genuine scourge that affects all human activity in our modern societies.

It is the pre-eminent reason why everything today is about marketing and easy, quick and low-cost solutions - instead of those complicated things that we should be doing, like reasoning, dialoguing, discussing ideas and searching for solutions that are both practical and durable, however complex and difficult these may be.

To this effect, everything today is about marketing. We are therefore offered only what the majority apparently asks for, or we are pushed by demand-created marketing ploys.

Among the many ills caused by such a sad state of affairs, one of the most devastating is the result in the recurrent election of too many incompetent demagogues who "make us feel good, make us feel secure, make us feel at ease".

Indeed, as in the case of journalism and televised entertainment, politics have become nothing short of a product that is pushed to the spoiled, instant gratification-searching children that we are.

Election campaigns? The time has long passed since the days when public debates (televised or not), characterized by their depth of content, were the norm. Nowadays, it is all about easy formulas and easy answers. Everything is about the 30 seconds soundbite that can be shown in those degenerated news shows which now predominate the waves. The same applies as well to the political messages - or rather, "political advertisements" - which cost millions upon millions of dollars. Should we be thereafter surprised and shocked by the monetary collusion between special interests and too many (corrupted) politicians?

As in the case of an overwhelming majority of journalists, there is a too high number of politicians who also go for the quick-and-easy way: indeed, there is nothing easier than using fear, corruption of facts and attacks against opponents - especially since intellectual sloth, ignorance, fear and the search for instant gratification are prevalent among the electorate of our societies.

In summary, our intellectual sloth generates our ignorance, our fear, our selfishness, our intolerance, as well as our search for instant gratification. Consequently, we have become akin to spoiled children with short attention-spans and which must be serviced, instead of the mature human beings endowed with capacities for reasoning, discerning and critical thinking, that we are supposed to be (here's a typical recent example of ignorance- and fear-fueled paranoia here).

Hence our current tabloid journalism and tabloid politics.

Not convinced?

Well then, here are yet more examples (direct or via other observers) of intellectual sloth-driven journalistic incompetence here, here, here, here, here, here and here. These recent examples constitute paradigms of what is wrong with today's media. It is all about parroting the meme du jour. It is all about no fact-checking and certainly no questioning. No information either, but instead puerile disinformation and propaganda. And change your position only if it has become all too evident that you are on the wrong side of an issue - but pretend you were always right anyways. More examples are mentioned/linked to in previous entries of mine here, here and here.

And what of politicians? For recent examples of intellectual sloth-driven political and/or governing incompetence, read this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this. Stupidity, pettiness, spin, cowardice, self-righteousness, mendacity, hypocrisy and expediency rule the day. Not counting other examples mentioned/linked to in previous entries of mine here, here, here and here.

I wrote before that only the incompetents abuse power.

We only have ourselves to blame, really. We get what we want or what we are being pushed, in a lazy, instant gratification-style. This is especially true for us in Canada and the USA, in light of the overwhelming numbers who voted in France's last presidential elections.

It is up to all of us to stand up for our democratic principles-founded societies - before it is too late and we end up living under de facto authoritarian regimes.


Update: 05/09/2007 - First, Digby (who else?) expands on the very core of the subject herein. In addition, here are several items which serve only to posit Q.E.D. with regards to what I wrote in this entry:

a) Republicans attacking House Speaker Pelosi with no facts (again), knowing that the MSM stenographers journalists will print the accusations without fact-checking;

b) One more example of a corporation playing stooge to Big Brother;

c) One more example of Bush' WH bad management (and obligatory blame-game to escape responsibility);

d) More on the hypocrisy, mendacity and hubris of neoconservatives (and more here);

e) One more example of neoconservative honesty (more on it here) ... this puts Iraq (if not Afghanistan as well) in a much clearer perspective, no? (Read: o-i-l);

f) One more example of hypocrisy, mendacity and hubris of MSM Antoinettes and neocon pundits (heck - here is yet one more for fun, and still another one, for the road), for whom the spin goes on;

g) Proof here that Climate Change denialists will attack anyone to further their ignorance-, intellectual sloth- and incompetence-based denying;

h) It looks like it is going to be "Iraq Forever":

i) But in the meantime: I wonder how the Bushies will respond to the Iraqi Parliament's imposing of a deadline for the withdrawal of US troops (without barely a peep by the US/Canadian MSM, by the way)? Will Da Commander Guy veto this as well?

j) Lastly, here is the US military at its finest, folks - and how about the army and neocons conspiring to propagandize the war or stiffle the media? These are yet more examples which support the point I made previously;

Here is another interesting item: a good discussion on how honesty and owning up to your mistakes beat mendacity and hubris anytime, anywhere, anywhen.

And finally: proof again here that you don't need to trample on freedom, civil liberties and human rights to catch terrorists. Regular investigative, constitutional police work is required, but absolutely no need of armies, gulags, denying of habeas corpus, illegal spying, or invading/destroying countries.

Q.E.D.

Yet meanwhile, grass-roots democracy has risen to petition for the pardon of a pseudo-celebrity, drunk-driving, found-guilty, socialite. This is the pathetic state of society, folks.

Nonetheless, hope remains still. As I have written before: it will always be up to citizens to ensure that democracy prevails in their societies.


Update II: 05/10/2007 - Accidental Deliberations has a very interesting post touching on the core of the subject of this entry of mine - this time with regards to Afghanistan. In addition, more musings on the complicity of the MSM here, on the obtuse-thinking of pundits here and here, as well as on the lying politicians and their lying lies here. In the meantime, US soldiers keep on winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi youth while the MSM looks the other way - the soldiers are probably venting their frustrations at being deployed/redeployed indefinitely or at being shot at/blown appart/killed (but still - urinating on dead Iraqis? This is Section 8 stuff!). Meanwhile, House republicans have a sit down with Da Commander Guy ... not about getting out of Iraq, nor about those major covert ops he approved without telling the House, but about telling him to speak no more about it and let propaganda do its thing. This is deep-thinking at its best, folks. Also, republicans prove again to be living in a fantasy world. Lastly, the AP has woken up to the fact that Iraqis want a timetable for troop withdrawal ... how sharp of the AP (see above), eh?

And the best for last: serious, thoughtful considerations and suggestions from a Canadian MSM opiniator to Stéphane Dion, on how to better connect with Canadians at large (yes folks, it is all about image and perception - these are the things that matter the most to our political journalists and pundits, like their American counterparts. My question is finally answered: we are indeed here now).

To paraphrase Atrios - I am documenting the atrocities. Enjoy.