Philosopher and journalist Günther Anders wrote this in 1956. 1956!
We will face spirits with what is futile and playful.
It is good, in chatter and incessant music, to prevent the spirit from thinking.
So, my take is that constant exposure to trivial entertainment and distractions could prevent my children from developing critical thinking skills. The bombardment of superficial content leads to a society where deep, meaningful thought is rare, and people are more easily manipulated because they are not encouraged to think independently.
We will put sexuality first among human interests.
As a social tranquilizer, it doesn’t get any better than that. In general, care will be taken to banish the seriousness of existence, to ridicule everything that has high value, and to maintain a constant apology for lightness; so that the euphoria of advertising becomes the standard of human happiness. It is the model of freedom.
The overemphasis on sexuality and the trivialization of serious matters lead to an existence where values like integrity, family, and intellectual achievement are undervalued. I fear that my children will grow up in a world where superficial pleasures are prioritized (even more) over meaningful accomplishments and deep connections. Troubling, to say the least.
Conditioning will produce such integration of itself that the only fear that must be maintained will be that of being excluded from the system and therefore no longer being able to access the conditions necessary for happiness.
The mass man, thus produced, must be treated as what he is: a calf, and must be monitored as a flock should be. Anything that allows his lucidity to fall asleep is a social good. Anything that jeopardizes his awakening must be ridiculed and stifled. Any doctrine that challenges the system must first be designated as subversive and terrorist, and those who support it must then be treated as such.
Alarming. As a parent, I fear that my children will grow up in a society where conformity is enforced, and dissent is punished. The idea that people are conditioned to fear exclusion from the system, and that independent thought is suppressed, is terrifying. I worry about the loss of personal freedoms and the ability for my children to think and act independently.
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