The Revolution Will Not Happen Because it is Televised
In business the term "micromanagement" means to cripple an organization with excessive "command and control" from supervisors. One person is monitoring and directing even the smallest details of another person's job. This means 2 people are doing the work of one, in effect.
I hate micromanagement. Train me, let me know what needs to get done, then get out of my way and tend to YOUR tasks, pal.
Media's insistence that the American public "needs" to know every detail of every sensational story is an insidious and crippling form of MASS micromanagement. That is not one person paying too much attention to a few people's activities and making their decisions for them, or second-guessing and reversing their decisions. Mass micromanagement is when a vast number of people are watching the details of a few people and ... second-guessing and reversing their decisions.
An officer in Iraq is faced with a tough situation, but he has to sweat what the American public will think and say about his decision, based only on their sound bite information. The man in the field has hours, days, maybe even months and years of background on the entire situation, but somehow thousands of amateurs are more expert?
People who will not be involved in the courts martial of military people who allegedly abused prisoners in Iraq believe (because the media has told them it is so) that they NEED to know if the female soldier's nipples were hard or soft when she posed with the prisoner, or the dead body.
Now THAT'S democracy.
I hate micromanagement. Train me, let me know what needs to get done, then get out of my way and tend to YOUR tasks, pal.
Media's insistence that the American public "needs" to know every detail of every sensational story is an insidious and crippling form of MASS micromanagement. That is not one person paying too much attention to a few people's activities and making their decisions for them, or second-guessing and reversing their decisions. Mass micromanagement is when a vast number of people are watching the details of a few people and ... second-guessing and reversing their decisions.
An officer in Iraq is faced with a tough situation, but he has to sweat what the American public will think and say about his decision, based only on their sound bite information. The man in the field has hours, days, maybe even months and years of background on the entire situation, but somehow thousands of amateurs are more expert?
People who will not be involved in the courts martial of military people who allegedly abused prisoners in Iraq believe (because the media has told them it is so) that they NEED to know if the female soldier's nipples were hard or soft when she posed with the prisoner, or the dead body.
Now THAT'S democracy.
posted by Author | 7:06 PM
6 Comments:
I just heard that Paul Johnson was decapitated. I feel nauseous.
I have given up guessing or hoping for people to survive these things. Half the ones I expect not to make it do (like the guy who escaped, and Jessica Lynch who was rescued, and even some who were released). I didn't think Mr. Johnson was going to make it out. Hate to be right about it, though.
Hate is the child of ignorance. The more we travel and meet others, the harder it is to hate, I believe. Even if traveling only by books or film, getting to know other people makes it harder to hate. It's still possible, just more difficult.
One good thing about the Internet is that it is possible to "travel" more broadly, and with less expense. I can make a friend in another state or another country, and maintain that friendship over weeks, months, and even years.
Hopefully a day will come when the world is wired together enough that few want to attack any one group because they have some connections to someone in that group ... friendship, or business.
I wish I could kick my news habit, but I am a junkie, and the news monkey is on my back like King Kong.
I hope Paul Johnson's family finds strength, and American leaders find wisdom and courage to improve the horrible state of affairs overseas.
I accidentally clicked on a link and I (unfortunately) saw what is purported to be a picture. I won't be able to rinse away that image ever.
I need a hug.
I 'intensely dislike' (Ok, I think it's alright to hate) what these hopeless fundamentalists are doing. They're making their religion, their culture look bad and they don't care. They don't even understand that they are hurting their own cause!
I attended a lecture at Centenary College in Shreveport where the speaker compared and contrasted Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
While all three have a lot of basic morality and "decency" in their codes of conduct, and all three claim the same roots in the first 5 books of the "Old Testament" (also known as the"Pentateuch"), each has distinct views of how one relates to, communicates with and 'impresses' (earns ''salavation' and divine favor) their god. (Technically, if they share the same Creator, they SHOULD be dealing with the same deity, right? But subsequent humans have shattered what should have been unity.)
Judaism believes (in my over-simplified paraphrasing) that to relate to god you must be born a Jew. To 'impress' Hashem ('The Name') Jews observe dietary ritual and special days of observance, etc. There is not major call to evangelism or conversion of the "lost" in Judaism. 'If you want to become a Jew, okay by me. Here is a list of things to learn and do and then we'll have a ceremony for you.' After the conversion, you follow the dietary practices and calendar rituals and you're 'in' with Hashem.
Christianity believes that to relate to god you must be born again by the spirit of god, because the first birth by and of nature includes the genetic mutation of sin (strictly my analogy). To 'impress' God, Christians have to believe and confess that 'Yeshua' (aka Jesus, Jesus Christ, Messiah, etc.) is God inhuman form and resurrected from a sacrificial execution by crucifixion. Evangelism consists of getting anyone to believe and confess the same stuff, and after that time you're 'on your own.'
Islam believes that to relate to god, and to impress god, you must follow dietary and calendar rituals and observances. Being born into a Muslim family does NOT relate you to Allah. Obedience to divine rules connects you to Him, and keeps your seat reserved in paradise. Evangelism is getting others to obey the same rituals. Believing the ritual is not required. 'Just do' it and you will be 'saved.' And converting the unbeliever is part of the daily obedience for Muslims, to some extent. (Every Muslim is not expected to convert someone to Islam every day, but converting the infidel is a major segment of Islamic law and practice. Just as all Jews are not rabbis and all Christians are not evangelists, not all Muslims are expected to convert the infidel.)
The striking aspect of Islam (as it has been explained to me by other people and their research, not my own) is that, because believing has little to do with divine relationship and approval, a man obeying because there is a gun muzzle against his head works as well as someone obeying because they were born and raised into the faith and really believe it. This is why there have been huge military 'crusades' in the past (and today) by Islamic nations or organizations. Entire nations have been conquered and required by law to observe basic Islamic rules. To put it another way, there is 'sanctity in numbers.' Eventually the entire world is supposed to be obedient to Islam, and then all suffering will end and Allah will make everything better for everyone. Ending the unbelief of an infidel (which means "unfaithful" to the practices of Islam, by the way) by conversion OR by death, is "saving" the infidel from a life of hell-on-earth, and quickens the day when Allah reigns without interference and the world is made perfect.
(I welcome input from anyone who understands Islam better than I do and can help me improve or correct my very broad analogies here. If I have erred, it is from insufficient study on my part, not hostility toward any one religion or another.)
Very roughly stated, bombing the infidel is making life better for the infidel and for the world, in the view of radical Islam. People proudly strap bombs on their children because they love them and are glad their children are pleasing Allah, not because they do not love their children as fiercely as other religions do.
Now THAT'S scary, and important to learn. Radical Muslims are not — repeat — NOT villains. They are heroes to their god and to their faith. Not to understand this is reasonable since it flies in the face of American Judeo-Christian background — and it is a source of miserable failures to communicate with and react to Islamic jihad effectively.
Know your enemy.
And, ultimately, the only way to "win" over violent fundamentalism of ANY "faith," you must 'Love thine enemy.'
You're right. It's never ok to hate.
I guess I was really upset at the time...my emotions were definitely out of control.
I'm sorry, Cliff.
Randi, I never caught you "hating." Sorry if I gave you the impression I thought you were out of line!
I write about the overall picture of Muslims hating Christians, and vice-versa. Jews hating Muslims and vice-versa.
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