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The elites have controlled the narrative basically forever and now their control slipped a bit because new tools have come about that allow less mainstream idea

The elites have controlled the narrative basically forever and now their control slipped a bit because new tools have come about that allow less mainstream ideas to be pushed through to people. Now they're in panic mode so we get articles like this I guess.

endorphone 9y ago
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” It isn't about "less mainstream ideas". It's about this notion that expressing a thought -- however irrational, uneducated, poorly considered and rash -- makes it like a democracy of ideas, where it instantly has the same weight as any other expression. It is the root of so-called "populism".
- fpisfun 9y ago
  Yes that's what's known as freedom of speech.. yes I realize a platform like Facebook doesn't have to allow freedom of speech because it's not the government but why not instead say, hey this is what a lot of people seem to think and feel, why not figure out how we can get people on the same page and being less divisive, whether it be through education or whatever. A lot of tech products seem to just rot people's brains in my opinion, the constant vapid use of things like Snapchat and Instagram, for example, I find repulsive. Maybe the next generation of apps can find ways to engage people better in things that matter like learning more things that are of use and then we can have a more educated populace overall so the elites won't constantly feel the need to censor and curate the masses.
  - jstewartmobile 9y ago
    You're absolutely right. The same way FOX, CNN, CNBC, ABC, CBS, etc. rotted people's brains before everyone went online. Same shit, different medium.
mcguire 9y ago
"The elites have controlled the narrative..." Which elites are these? The leftist elites, the liberal elites, the conservative elites, the right-wing elites, the military-industrial elites, the corporate elites, or the religious elites?
- fpisfun 9y ago
  A combination of them I suppose.
- ggg9990 9y ago
  Outside of the religious elites and the "leftist elites" who are virtually nonexistent, these are all the same group of people. They basically believe in the primacy of education and intelligence which not everyone agrees with.

endorphone 9y ago

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” It isn't about "less mainstream ideas". It's about this notion that expressing a thought -- however irrational, uneducated, poorly considered and rash -- makes it like a democracy of ideas, where it instantly has the same weight as any other expression. It is the root of so-called "populism".

fpisfun 9y ago
Yes that's what's known as freedom of speech.. yes I realize a platform like Facebook doesn't have to allow freedom of speech because it's not the government but why not instead say, hey this is what a lot of people seem to think and feel, why not figure out how we can get people on the same page and being less divisive, whether it be through education or whatever. A lot of tech products seem to just rot people's brains in my opinion, the constant vapid use of things like Snapchat and Instagram, for example, I find repulsive. Maybe the next generation of apps can find ways to engage people better in things that matter like learning more things that are of use and then we can have a more educated populace overall so the elites won't constantly feel the need to censor and curate the masses.
- jstewartmobile 9y ago
  You're absolutely right. The same way FOX, CNN, CNBC, ABC, CBS, etc. rotted people's brains before everyone went online. Same shit, different medium.

mcguire 9y ago

"The elites have controlled the narrative..." Which elites are these? The leftist elites, the liberal elites, the conservative elites, the right-wing elites, the military-industrial elites, the corporate elites, or the religious elites?

fpisfun 9y ago
A combination of them I suppose.
ggg9990 9y ago
Outside of the religious elites and the "leftist elites" who are virtually nonexistent, these are all the same group of people. They basically believe in the primacy of education and intelligence which not everyone agrees with.