Taking the red pill

Someone else thinks the youth are waking up.



Via Poputonian, at Hulabaloo

Me Doth Protest, A Little



by poputonian



Not many commenters picked up on one of the points I was angling for in the prior post, which is no doubt a reflection of my writing skill more than anything else. But aimai and carolyn13, along with a couple of others, did accentuate the impact made on society by the changes in communication technology. It seems no small thing that the medium for protest itself has undergone a massive paradigm shift. The current 100 million streams per day on YouTube and google video far exceed the numbers who view the old style 'teevee', and though much of what is being viewed over the net is entertainment, there is also a growing body of news and protest video. Think of the taser video of the UCLA student that spread organically and virally across the ether. Ditto for the video of Saddam's hanging, which circled the globe before the corporate press could get their fat 401k asses out of bed, or Bush strumming a guitar during the destruction of New Orleans, an image that propagated from person to person and surely had some influence on media coverage and public opinion.

*snip*

Both my teenagers asked a dozen questions about Vietnam and the street protests after watching Going Upriver, a documentary that revealed a true American anti-war hero in John Kerry. Watching Kerry, their eyes welled up with tears, as did mine. They later watched the bumbling press conferences of President Bush and hold him in contempt, and speak out against him. They pledge to vote against him and others like him whenever given the opportunity. My daughter pointed me to When The President Talks To God, the protest song by twenty-something indy-rocker, Bright Eyes. That song, which Bright Eyes made free to anyone who wants it, has now been heard by millions. The video of him performing the song on Leno has been viewed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions. My daughter ended a friendship with someone who became radically opposed to gays because of what that person's fundie parents had taught her. The culture battles are playing out in the schools and I believe the side of reason has the edge. Though it might not hold the visual drama of a street protest, per se, it is the rejection of bad ideas and beliefs.



So, I admit to being optimistic about the younger generation, what with their sensibilities and the new uses of technology. Having information spoon-fed by the monolithic media empire is being replaced by consumer-selected information sources. Print circulation is dropping and the networks are laying off staff as the MSM is out-flanked by the emerging, wired community. It's the wired community where you can find the bee-line to the truth, if you want it. As I see it, protest is still there, but it's perhaps a bit more efficient, subtle, and less obvious to those we're protesting against. Hopefully, this way leads to a greater gathering of numbers, and more sustainability as the precision-memory of digital reporting, coupled with smart governance, leads to a better world. I think the kids will figure it out.

That said, I have an appointment with a bottle and a blunt.



: )