The dumbing down of America

You gave a very brief caricature of the system we are living in and concluded--



If I misunderstood what you meant to say I apologise. I wasn't being dishonest because that requires intention and I had none. All I intended was to persuade you not to be at odds with the society you live in because it is not good for you to be so and my reading of the post gave me the impression that you are at odds with it.

Hi Spendius - that phrasing would imply that I was at odds with everything (that's not said in a harsh way - but in recognition of the power of phrasing to lead ones thoughts down a particular path)

- Is there not something in society that you think could be done better?

- Is there not something in society you disagree with?

A certain amount of conflict is actually good for society (no conflict whatsoever actually leads to a stale society)...and of course too much conflict is bad.

A certain amount of of greed can actually be good for society...and of course too much greed is bad.

A certain amount of giving can be good for society, but too much giving is actually bad (it takes a certain amount of wealth to generate wealth, and never being able to better your lot demotivates society)

A certain amount of individualism is actually good for society, and of course too much individualism is bad (the extreme of individualism is anarchy - no conformity at all with society)

A certain amount of community is actually good for society, and of course too much community is bad (the extreme of community is a tyrannical society that virtually forcefully insists on conformity and assisting others)

What then, is my issue?

I'm not sure now.

O.K.; however, I believe one should be more concerned about the entropy of society, as a whole, and therefore give more concern to alienation. One need not be at odds with society, yet alienated. Alienation, in my opinion, is more harmful to society than "being at odds," since there are today more alienated people than those at odds with society. Unless you are defining "at odds" to include alienation?

I would do. "At odds" covers all the ground.

As Frank Harris said--(not exact words) --"if things are going wrong start with yourself to correct them."

You're not going to change anything by being concerned.