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Your brain isn’t what it used to be.
If you aren’t feeling the itch yet, you will soon.
It could come by the end of this sentence or, on a good day, the fifth paragraph. But before long, a little voice in your head will whisper, “Click away for just a second” — just long enough to take a quick glance at your email or Instagram feed or group chat or 401(k) or chatbot’s answer to “how to tell if a mole is cancerous” or Amazon results for “joint-smoking garden gnomes.”
At least, this will happen if you’re anything like myself. And I am not alone.
Americans still consume plenty of text. Social media platforms teem with words — even video-based apps like TikTok are replete with captions and comments. And on average, we spend more than two hours scrolling through such platforms each day.
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That's odd, I didn't hit any restrictions! Appreciate it! Pinned.
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24 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 3 Jun
I think they geofence or A/B test or maybe I visited vox for something else recently.
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Making everything about politics is what poisoned our politics.
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42 sats \ 0 replies \ @Crow 3 Jun
Yes. The media are the ones to blame for that (mostly) I think. I remember news stories always used to present both sides (yes, I am that old)! Everything is presented as a binary choice nowadays with no nuance. Good guys and bad guys - it's very tedious and braindead.
That's one of the reasons I gave up watching TV years ago and just listened to podcasts instead. You will get far more valuable information and opinions from listening to comedians that the news or mostly anything on the TV.
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Can’t argue with that!
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Indeed.
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While I agree with the thesis that the masses are dumbing themselves down, I want to push back just a bit.

1. Politics needs to be poisoned

I was just chatting with a friend that sent me a video clip of George W. Bush talking about isolationists and protectionists. He was talking about The Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul segments of the conservative movement. What it reminded me of was how little actual principles most people that vote actually hold let alone understand.
Bush was more closely aligned with Obama than he was with Trump and yet every single Bush supporter I know also LOVES Trump. Even though they are miles apart on so many issue in International relations. This is why the elites so strongly oppose Trump. He is a drastic change in approach to International relations away from the liberal mindset. Same goes for economics in many ways.
Most people vote for who they like and the person that convinces them that they will fight for them. This is why Trump wins. He showed the masses how little these republicans actually do for their people. I'm not saying Trump is honest or even cares. Just the perception. Its obvious to me that politicians are manipulating the people they claim to serve.
Its a popularity contest.

2. The More Populist Things Get the More Transparent the Grift

The more ridiculous Trump behaves the more ridiculous the response. I think many people are tuning it out and if they aren't they will eventually realize how pointless this all is. I see this most in younger people.
I know older people that just can't stand how Trump has debased the office... I love it. I think its not healthy to have this almost religious reverence for a very dirty and cut-throat world. If you read enough about political history you can't really maintain this respect.
Trump rips off the top and exposes just how dirty it all is by not caring.
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5 sats \ 1 reply \ @Crow 3 Jun
well put. Trump has this amazing ability to make the media react to something he said or did in such a way that makes them look petty and ridiculous. Very entertaining if nothing else.
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Personally, I disagree with many of Trump's "positions" but I do enjoy the game he plays because the people he's making the fool are the worst kinds of people responsible for some of most terrible things in our modern times. The media and political elite.
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As my nickname says, I'm young. Like, really young. So I vividly remember from school the my girl classmates used to read a lot of books. But it wasn't regular books, it was explicit romances / 18+ books. This generation is totally lost. Never saw anyone reading books like Orwell, Huxley or Dostoievsk. I'm pretty sure that's a form of poisoning our politics.
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I understand this feeling but I know young men and women that give me hope for the future. Some personally and others in the bitcoin space.
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost
~ J.R.R. Tolkien
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