U.S. Politics

This is not exactly political but it felt right to discuss it here. I've been thinking about our brains in the internet/information/attention age.

Hank Green made a (warning: LONG) video about how the internet age mirrors the invention of the printing press. It's worth a watch if you have 30 minutes.

It's easy to connect the rise of Donald Trump to social media, propaganda, the destruction of our attention spans, and a general decrease in critical thinking skills. It feels like we're at an inflection point, and the signs are not good.

https://bsky.app/profile/ryanlcooper.com%2Fpost%2F3lo72rhihim2h

I'm generally an optimist, but stories like this concern me.

https://bsky.app/profile/pbump.com%2Fpost%2F3lolgr4lcbc2w

This is definitely Old Man Corner, but I figure no one is more likely to agree with me than a group of forum users who enjoy reading and long-form content.
 
You're right. And yeah, it's pretty heartbreaking. We did read to our kids at first, but yeah...by the time our youngest was three or four, we had shifted away from it. I'm definitely no better than anyone else.
 
I'm not a superhero or anything, but I read to my daughter regularly until she was like 8. I read to my son less, but only because his attention span was terrible and he just couldn't get into -listening- to a story. That being said, when my son got into Warhammer, I bought a few of the books and started reading one to him because he was really interested in the world and characters. By Chapter 3 he took the book out of my hands and started reading it himself (he NEVER enjoyed reading, and had never read an entire book that wasn't a comic up until this point). He has now read 2.5 Warhammer books and is almost done with his second 'Warriors' book.

My daughter, however, hates reading and basically never does it unless something really catches her interest. I think the last book she got all the way through was Slash's biography.

Anyway, yeah - people don't read enough. People have no goddamn critical thinking skills. Republicans have intentionally destroyed the education system to make sure they always have a new crop of voters. But, I'm gonna be controversial here, I actually put a lot of blame on organized religion. I, famously, think it's all bullshit. But the bigger problem is that when you teach people to believe things without evidence, and in fact teach them that it is a VIRTUE to believe things without evidence, you are teaching them NOT to think critically because it's a virtue not to. And so many of our current problems can trace back to that.
 
Damien said:
My daughter, however, hates reading and basically never does it unless something really catches her interest. I think the last book she got all the way through was Slash's biography.
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There's still time. I was a voracious reader as an elementary school kid, but I quickly fell off once I outgrew The Hardy Boys. I felt like they didn't make books for my interests. I only got back to regularly reading after grad school, when I discovered high fantasy. That's what I'd been looking for all along.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
There's still time. I was a voracious reader as an elementary school kid, but I quickly fell off once I outgrew The Hardy Boys. I felt like they didn't make books for my interests. I only got back to regularly reading after grad school, when I discovered high fantasy. That's what I'd been looking for all along.
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We have a (dangerous) rule in my house; we never say no to books. If there's something you want to read, we'll get it for you. My daughter (she's 15) has many books. She rarely finishes them. Part of it is the ADHD, for sure. Her mind wanders and she gets bored and loses interest. Or the book is part of some hyper-fixation that suddenly ends.

It can be frustrating, though. Every time she's sure THIS is something she'll really get into - she doesn't. She's huge into music, so a few biographies have grabbed her, but even those took her a long time to get through. We don't pressure or pry, though. My cousin was forced to read regularly by his dad and, to this day as a 50-year-old man he still fucking hates reading with a passion (he does have a doctorate in economics, so like.... there's that).
 
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Damien said:
We have a (dangerous) rule in my house; we never say no to books. If there's something you want to read, we'll get it for you. My daughter (she's 15) has many books. She rarely finishes them. Part of it is the ADHD, for sure. Her mind wanders and she gets bored and loses interest. Or the book is part of some hyper-fixation that suddenly ends.

It can be frustrating, though. Every time she's sure THIS is something she'll really get into - she doesn't. She's huge into music, so a few biographies have grabbed her, but even those took her a long time to get through. We don't pressure or pry, though. My cousin was forced to read regularly by his dad and, to this day as a 50-year-old man he still fucking hates reading with a passion (he does have a doctorate in economics, so like.... there's that).
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Totally relatable for me. I used to be a voracious reader when I was younger- to the point that I was above the rest of my class at least up until 3rd or 4th grade (thanks Hooked on Phonics!). You couldn't find a Goosebumps book I hadn't read at least once. Once I got older, though, and the ADHD settled in, it was a no-go for me. I still lament the fact that I'm not as big a reader as I used to be. The only times I can really force myself to sit and read is on a plane. Comics and graphic novels are much easier for me, which feels silly to say. I hate that I'm a grown man and need pretty pictures to look at in order for me to read. 😅

It's disheartening seeing the shift away from reading in general, though. Reading books, especially physical books, feels like it's joining playing outside as a dying pastime. Even my niece, who was a bookworm pretty much right up until high school, who wanted to pursue a career in either writing or journalism, suddenly could care less about it because their friends aren't reading either. I was beyond shocked to learn that they don't teach kids cursive anymore, and a bunch of kids in her class don't even know how to read an analog clock. It's all about the phones nowadays, which, sure, can still spark creativity, but it's a whole different kind. And now with AI, I'm sure we're not far from kids just never picking up a book in their life.

God, I feel old saying all that "back in my day" stuff. Let me go find a cloud to yell at.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
If you want to discuss Gaza, do so in the politics thread.
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sure why not

I don't know how significant the protest vote against Kamala over Palestine decided the election, if only because I do not assume the average American is bothered by dead Arabs/Muslims in foreign countries. if appealing to the anti-genocide constituency was important enough to make or break the election, I think that the Biden administration could have, should have done more than what they did which was (in my opinion) actively harmful. heck, even if Trump was going to win anyway I still think that we should refuse to abet another country's mass killings.

it's not that the threat of Trump/Republicans being worse for Palestine (among other issues) wasn't a real concern. my view is that trying to sell the Dems as The Lesser Evil and to 'Vote Blue No Matter Who' while asking voters to ignore or tolerate mass death is going to turn some people off. honestly, I don't blame them and I'm sure there are those that did not make their Election Day decision capriciously. it's why my harshest criticism remains with the people who enabled the killings and not the people protesting the killings. anybody who read my response to Rick already knows this.

also: I don't know if anybody remembers but I have shared my feelings on this issue before.
 
So rather than voting for Democrats who aren't helping Palestinians, better to elect a Republican who will also do harm to our country, and perhaps as many others as he can?

In Ireland, and especially Northern Ireland, there are SO many Palestinian flags around. Derry and Belfast both had massive murals in support of Palestinians. There were also signs calling for a cease to any support for the US as long as they support genocide.
 
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Ru1977 said:
So rather than voting for Democrats who aren't helping Palestinians, better to elect a Republican who will also do harm to our country, and papayas many others as he can?
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yeah it's not a good situation.

I assume people in Ireland do not get beaten by the police, subject to anti-BDS laws, or deported for supporting Palestine which probably helps get people on board.
 
Yeah, I lived in Ireland for a while (Ru's heard some of my stories) and culturally nobody hates a bully like the Irish when it comes to situations like this and they are NOT quiet about it. Also had three oddball interactions with Irish law enforcement and the Garda were the only time I didn't feel like I was a split second away from a physical assault. Granted they were also they were the ones who told me if I ran into any immigration problems to just "jump in a bush."
Me: But--
Garda: Do I look like a man who's gonna chase ya? Anyone gives you trouble, jump in a bush. They'll give up and go home for a pint when they can't find ya.
Also got stopped at the airport because my boots set off the metal detector and security looked me dead in the eyes and said "ah go on, sure now anyone who wants to blow us up is already here."
I have never fully gotten my jaw up off the floor after having THAT said to me. And of course not a 24 hour period goes by I don't question my sanity for moving home to the States.

Love seeing that other folks have implemented the "never say no to books" rule. That rule for me as a kid is why I grew up to be a professional writer, and I now have the same rule for my nieces and nephews. Want that book? Will you read it? It's yours, go get it.
 
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