> In this case it's the drive for culture that causes monoculture. It's the drive for a culture that can be commodified and packaged up that causes monoculture

> In this case it's the drive for culture that causes monoculture. It's the drive for a culture that can be commodified and packaged up that causes monoculture. I was passing through times square the other week. One of the 10-story tall LED billboards had a girl in underwear with the tagline "No retouching on this girl! The real you is sexy." We seem to be disillusioned, and that makes authenticity in advertising hot. So find the hottest authentic girl, package her up, and mass-produce her authenticity. The way out is to build your cultural values around that which cannot be commodified. Value authentic authenticity, and value the things that can't be measured in dollars and economic efficiency. We've known what that is: self-expression, creativity, friendship, family, and love. What we struggle with is recognizing fake authenticity. For some reason we value hallmark love more than a handwritten note because the hallmark typeset is more refined or it has a more clever tagline or the art on the cover will supposedly evoke a deeper emotion than any stick figure I'm capable of drawing. We've been conditioned to think the best expression of our love is something that can be bought in the card isle, and we've forgotten that our love is actually ours to give freely. The only way out of the catch-22 is to decondition your way out of the value and belief system that perpetuates the catch-22. What's the old adage? Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth: there is no spoon.