It is a fact well known to social scientists, if not the general public, that the relative anonymity of the Internet brings out the worst ethics in (some) people in many instances. If one spends an hour navigating the popular social site YouTube; reading the comments left in response to various video uploads; one can […]
AMATUER JOURNALISM’S PARADIGM- SHIFTING ROLE IN THE USA
Many folks are asking why the American journalists are missing the point about many obvious atrocities and immoral ways of authorities in the world, particularly the Western world. One cursory observation can reveal a great deal about this. Many– and not all–American journalists are trained to produce lies of omission. This happens at the majority […]
RELIGION AND IDEOLOGY
As I see it, when religion becomes institutionalized then it crosses the line from the realm of personal spirituality into the dogmatic social value system. At that point religion and ideology become interchangeable. From a moralistic (based on philosophic thought) standpoint, a religion ought not to be forced upon anyone, when it is forced and […]
THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF MUSIC
How many of us on this planet have a personal relationship with music as a transformative agent? In contemplating a response to this question I am reminded of the treatment of the role music plays in our lives by the great critical thinker Theodor Adorno. According to Adorno, “the musical synthesis preserves the unity of […]
TO US CITIZENS: SOME NOTES ON BIOETHICS
In the United States of America, we live in a society that strives for an what the Ancient Greeks called democracy. It fosters freedom of speech and freedom of movement. Our society is also quite complex, comprised of people with different cultural, educational, economical, religious, moral, and ultimately philosophical backgrounds. Now you take all of […]