We have the left media, we have the right media but there are other points of views still...
I
have often spoken to you about being distracted by "bread and circus":
The political parasites' slick oratory and promises of government
largesse; corporatists in their fancy suits telling you that you can
"get rich" their way; Hollywood antics and amoral lifestyles;
mass-watched sporting events. These all serve to blind us to creeping
collectivism.
Nearly a year ago now, the real circus — The Greatest Show on Earth
— went dark. The last performance of the venerable Ringling Bros.&
Barnum & Bailey circus rang down the curtain on the age of the big
top spectacle on May 21, 2017.
I have been thinking about this often lately. In my mind, it
symbolized the end of a way of life before the digital age, when kids'
imaginations were stimulated by the sight of the real. They had live
lions and tigers and bears and the magnificent, ponderous elephant,
instead of being mindlessly numbed by fake bread and circus through a
screen.
The real circus aroused all the senses — the smell of the sawdust
and the animals, the sights of the glittering costumes and funny-face
clowns, the tastes of crunchy roasted peanuts and sweet cotton candy. It
meant a certain excitement in the air in anticipation of an amazing
escape from the humdrum routine of ordinary everyday life.
There are other circuses still around, but none capture the essence
of the fantasy and enchantment like the old Ringling Bros. circus. It
was of a time when kids often spent their free time outdoors playing
games of their own invention instead of being herded off to
adult-organized rituals like soccer games. It was of a time when
families "went visiting" to chat face-to-face with friends instead
sending faceless messages through a phone.
How many of us still "shoot the breeze" with neighbors over a
backyard fence instead of exchanging Facebook messages? How many of us
even know our neighbors?
We ate meals as a family, where fathers and mothers, sons and
daughters looked at each other and shared experiences. The TV was the
first interruption at the dinner table by the propagandists, and today
if you visit any restaurant, which has replaced the family meal for
many, you will see nothing but each person at the table staring in
silence at a smartphone screen, each isolated in his or her own world
apart from the family.
I am not against technology. I am against separating families from
each other. The digital age revolutionized our lives in amazing ways and
gave us individual powers and conveniences we never had before. But we
have paid a sad price for those benefits — the loss personal contact and
interaction and the rise of incivility afforded by the relative
anonymity and separation of electronic communication.
People today have no hesitation to say things to others online that
they would likely never say face-to-face — or would at least think
twice before saying those things at risk of being ashamed before
neighbors, and God.
Courtesy is an endangered trait in our culture. Respect for others —
from the heart and not from the false dictates of liberal political
correctness — lies inert on life support. Social discourse has abandoned
the idea of free exchange of ideas and opinions, bulldozed by hardened
my-way-or-the-highway dogmas.
Businesses that once strived to be good community citizens are now
owned by faceless corporate giants that care only about bottom-line
profits. Customers are just an inconvenient means to that end. Does your
mail carrier know your name? Does your grocer know what cuts of meat
you like? You have a rare relationship if they do.
As I look back on the farewell of Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey from the stage, I think it serves as a reminder to us all of what
our society once was and still can be.
Spend time with your family. Set aside a time when TV, computers
and cellphones get put away, and just talk with each other.
Treat your neighbors with the same respect you expect from them.
You may be looked down on for believing in, or simply repeating, Jesus'
admonition to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Despite this, go
for walks in the neighborhood and say hello to people. Maybe stop and
pass the time for awhile.
In all things, remember to not think conventional thoughts. They
are not your own. Conventional thoughts and wisdom come from the news
media, public schools, the medical establishment, organized church and
the government. It's a lifetime programming process that builds
parameters of thought from which few escape. And there are precious few
who do escape their bread and circus.
Yours for the truth,
Bob Livingston
Editor, The Bob Livingston Letter™
Welcome to Elkmont, Alabama. A blog dedicated to the sleepy little Southern town of Elkmont, Alabama and its people. We invite all those with good news, something worth braggin' about or announcements to submit their article to share with the Elkmont community. Pictures are welcome. Please visit often and see what is happening in Elkmont.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT..... ITS ALWAYS GOOD TO READ DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
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Something To Think About
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