In his book, Postman talks about the “specialist” culture. He says that the new priests are the sociologists, psychologists, physicians, etc. This book was written in 1993 and I think this aspect of culture has changed for the worse. The new new priests are self-help gurus, celebrities, and reality TV stars. A non-stop torrent of advice flows out of these people and every little bit is eaten up and the plate licked. WHY!!!??? Who are these people and why have they been given the authority to advise anyone about how they should live their lives? There are many answers to these questions but the one I want to focus on here is that people are hungry for answers.
If people want answers, they’re obviously out there by the millions… so what’s the problem? Well, turns out most of these answers are complete hogwash and people end up not getting their needs met. How many diets can a person go on? How many child raising strategies can a person try out? How many ways can I put my compost pile together? It is completely overwhelming. Few people can stick with anything for very long, thus no one gets good at anything and some of the greatest human qualities–discipline, fortitude, dedication, the ability to focus long-term–are left under-developed. So here’s my solution. People need to be empowered to trust themselves again. We don’t need someone to tell us how to sleep, eat, walk, run, talk, breath, and on and on. We are human beings; the most amazing animals nature has ever produced. Surely, each one of us has something inside that can guide us towards making good decisions.
So in addition to basic education, the kind that all people need, I offer as a solution to the ever-growing problems of our information culture: a national movement towards the empowerment of the human spirit. Believe in yourself. Look deep into your interior and find out what’s in there. Do you really like how you are handling yourself? If not, why? Take control of your actions. No book or talk show host or diet or strip-mall educated personal trainer can make your decisions for you. Empower yourself. Rant done… phew.
I think one complicated – and paradoxical – issue is that the very nature of technology masks our instincts. In fact, technology tells us that we don’t have to trust ourselves because we can program the technology to take the guesswork out of (almost) everything. You don’t know when it’s time to mow your lawn? Plug in a few variables and the brilliant technology can tell you – the very thing you could have figured out by looking out your window! Another complicating factor is that the more reliant we become on our technologies, the more afraid we become of trusting ourselves. (What practical steps can we take? I await your pamphlet for guidance!)
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