One of the goals of this blog is to utilize the connective power of the internet. Here is this amazing access we all have to the whole world. The potential that it holds in bringing diverse people and groups of people together is immense. Facebook serves as an example of this potential. Yet, the purpose of Facebook is, above all, to sell advertising. So even though it can be used to spread good ideas and bring people together, it is not set up to do any more than invite individuals to go on the site, post their 400-character blurb of the moment, see what else is going on within their individual and separated group of friends, perhaps push a button that announces that they like something, perhaps even engage in some meaningful conversation... but, in the end, it is all entertainment. Real sharing of ideas, I find, is stunted by the structure and the amount of banter that's overwhelming nature rises exponentially the bigger one's list of friends grows.
Among so many other massive disappointments that we are all struggling to keep from driving us to the brink, the power of the internet to disseminate information having been overcome by a more seductive power to spread fear and loathing is a very heavy weight upon my soul. Therefore, I can do no other but try to counteract the forces that have so many convinced that the system that exists is only natural, that it follows some indelible law of physics, that it was inevitable. Are we not human beings? Do we not make our own decisions, or, by accepting blindly what is put before us, give credence to whatever that is regardless of so many other possibilities? Is it not we who become machines when we allow our machines to do all of our thinking for us - machines that exist only because so much money can be made off of these machines, not because they are inherently good or only natural or supposedly smart?
Now obviously, I cannot oppose commercial enterprise. In fact, I am trying really hard to convince you and others to purchase my book. (Please purchase my book - I'm asking nicely because I am in need, financially as well as spiritually.)
But I consider the commercial enterprise that is involved for the kind of literature that I am selling to be on a vastly different level from that of other business people. I am not selling a product that promises to make your life easier, or make you more attractive, or younger looking, or wealthier, or happier. And I am not selling mere entertainment. I am selling something that I hope will challenge your assumptions and make you think about the world a little differently. I am selling the idea that everything is interconnected, that we do not live in isolated bubbles, and that our actions and our inactions (i.e. voting – hint, hint) reverberate throughout the whole universe.
So today's connections are to websites that celebrate connection. If you are feeling down and out about the state of the world today, check these out, as they are uplifting in their positive outlooks and empowering in their connections of individual action with the larger goal of sustainable societies. Let's put social networking to good use!
Ode Magazine
Shareable.net
350.org
Among so many other massive disappointments that we are all struggling to keep from driving us to the brink, the power of the internet to disseminate information having been overcome by a more seductive power to spread fear and loathing is a very heavy weight upon my soul. Therefore, I can do no other but try to counteract the forces that have so many convinced that the system that exists is only natural, that it follows some indelible law of physics, that it was inevitable. Are we not human beings? Do we not make our own decisions, or, by accepting blindly what is put before us, give credence to whatever that is regardless of so many other possibilities? Is it not we who become machines when we allow our machines to do all of our thinking for us - machines that exist only because so much money can be made off of these machines, not because they are inherently good or only natural or supposedly smart?
Now obviously, I cannot oppose commercial enterprise. In fact, I am trying really hard to convince you and others to purchase my book. (Please purchase my book - I'm asking nicely because I am in need, financially as well as spiritually.)
But I consider the commercial enterprise that is involved for the kind of literature that I am selling to be on a vastly different level from that of other business people. I am not selling a product that promises to make your life easier, or make you more attractive, or younger looking, or wealthier, or happier. And I am not selling mere entertainment. I am selling something that I hope will challenge your assumptions and make you think about the world a little differently. I am selling the idea that everything is interconnected, that we do not live in isolated bubbles, and that our actions and our inactions (i.e. voting – hint, hint) reverberate throughout the whole universe.
So today's connections are to websites that celebrate connection. If you are feeling down and out about the state of the world today, check these out, as they are uplifting in their positive outlooks and empowering in their connections of individual action with the larger goal of sustainable societies. Let's put social networking to good use!
Ode Magazine
Shareable.net
350.org
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