I'd like to clarify something about TV preferences and how they relate to intelligence level....Purple Banana mentioned that her mother, whom she considers intelligent, watches Survivor and American Idol. So does mine...recognizing them as guilty pleasures that provide a little mindless entertainment for relaxation purposes. There's nothing wrong with that....what's troubling, though, is that many people I know are incapable of telling a guilty pleasure from true quality: our subjectivity-driven society is fast eradicating the vital distinction.

As for the ethics of material consumption....I suppose it's hard for me to accurately judge this one, since I take no pleasure at all in possessions that do not allow me to take in art in some form: books, films, music, etc. I believe these things enrich my soul, but what would I do with a watch that costs a couple thousand dollars, when a cheap one tells time just as well? That's one human value I just cannot understand...the only people who really benefit from such consumption are the companies who sell these goods.

Coelho: you make sense to me, man. You see and know things, and you're not afraid to criticize (a major modern phobia). Civilized society is indeed deeply and inherently insane, and the mental inertia of the masses is essential to its preservation.

Anyway, I suppose the purpose of this thread was to discuss how we can find hope in the face of this, how I and others can avoid a descent into despair. I sometimes think man has been doomed since people first became able to produce more food than they needed just for themselves, thus rendering slavery practical.
overgrowthegovt Reviewed by overgrowthegovt on . Human stupidity This has been seriously getting me down lately, and I'm curious as to your perspectives on this topic, and how severe you think this social illness is. From what I've been observing, a depressing amount of people are content to live their termite lives in unquestioning intellectual sterility, devouring reality TV (and any other empty distraction), cultural and governmental propaganda, etc. They assert their values to you in a self-assured display of pedantry, values that have been hammered Rating: 5