tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post2470339808561510497..comments2024-03-28T17:44:11.289+00:00Comments on Bruce Charlton's Notions: The mass media and eternal vigilanceBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-50108237520600702892013-10-17T05:59:17.347+01:002013-10-17T05:59:17.347+01:00@WmJas - Most people cannot abstain all of the tim...@WmJas - Most people cannot abstain all of the time - the nature of their lives and their innate natures make it impossible. <br /><br />What I was getting at is that whenever we participate in the mass media, we are - sooner or later - going to be subjected to temptations to which we yield. It is that which must be resisted - especially when we know what is being done. <br /><br />As an example - every time I sign out from my e-mail, I cannot help but see several very carefully and cleverly crafted news photos and headlines which are designed to make me click the link and follow the story - which is almost always *bad* (and intentionally bad) in one way or another. Mostly I don't click, sometimes I do, sometimes I get swept along. <br /><br />I need to use the e-mail. I cannot always be strong. Therefore eternal vigilance, constant resistance - but also acknowledgement when I fail, no excuses to myself, but repentance. <br /><br />Living in the modern media world is like being a child in a world where addictive drugs hidden in sweets have been strewn and hidden everywhere. <br /><br />Alcoholics anonymous can work when there is just one drug, and there is some possibility of avoiding exposure to temptation - but the main thing is to explicitly admit that 'I am an alcoholic'. <br /><br />Modern society will never learn to escape the clutches of the media until it first admits it is addicted to the media. And I mean *really* addicted, like a desperate, down and out alcoholic who will drink *anything*.Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-32479811702162455562013-10-17T03:40:47.490+01:002013-10-17T03:40:47.490+01:00What? Give up The Economist, and Foreign Affairs....What? Give up The Economist, and Foreign Affairs. (Sorry, I can't. I would begin to jones almost immediately.)<br /><br />see http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139645/karl-w-eikenberry/the-limits-of-counterinsurgency-doctrine-in-afghanistan<br /><br />(How can I give articles like that up?)Nicholas Fulfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-64835009006252499852013-10-17T01:59:04.514+01:002013-10-17T01:59:04.514+01:00Yes, I understand, but my question is not about wh...Yes, I understand, but my question is not about what is possible but about the ideal standard of behavior to which we must aspire, and for which we must repent of falling short. Do you believe that a hypothetical morally perfect person <i>would</i> abstain totally from the mass media?<br /><br />In other words, do you believe that repentance is in order every time one reads a newspaper, watches TV, etc.? Or do you mean by "surrender" something more serious than mere voluntary exposure?Wm Jashttp://wmjas.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-26275281657258226472013-10-16T19:54:04.591+01:002013-10-16T19:54:04.591+01:00@WmJas - The point is that total abstinence IS imp...@WmJas - The point is that total abstinence IS impossible for most people most of the time. <br /><br />But giving up to the media is death - so we must be in a state of resistance; that is awareness of the net evil of the mass media, and the tendency toward evil of the mass media, and therefore never to surrender to the mass media - but if we do weaken and surrender then repent it, and start resisting again.Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-29923972269154016082013-10-16T18:58:41.582+01:002013-10-16T18:58:41.582+01:00By "resistance" do you mean total abstin...By "resistance" do you mean total abstinence -- never watching TV, never reading a newspaper, never listening to pop music, etc.? I know that's impossible in practice, but do you consider it something to aspire to? If not, what exactly do you mean by "resistance"?Wm Jashttp://wmjas.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4683970826895755480.post-81841351093168380092013-10-16T11:46:24.879+01:002013-10-16T11:46:24.879+01:00A powerful message. This ties in nicely with the &...A powerful message. This ties in nicely with the "low information diet" that I have been trying. I still listen to some radio 4 content via podcasts and classic fm but it's mostly free audiobooks for me now plus a monthly indulgence of one audible download. So far Francis Spufford,Thomas Sowell,Alistair McGrath and Wade Davis have been far better programming than what our betters think is appropriate news. But then I am lucky as I can listen to what I want all day as I work without bothering anyone. The downside is I often don't know what the trivial news items are which people want to chat about.<br /><br />How about a "Mere Christian" podcast? david stanleynoreply@blogger.com