Aiming Low.

Our media has perfected a sewer rat/train smash mentality. And it's no coincidence that we are calling social media - 'Social' Media.

Playing to the lowest common denominator (it would appear) IS the strategy for guaranteed profit and cash. At the expense of our lives and our futures – but let's not get picky. Yeah, so are we all good with that? What could WE do anyway right? 

Ensuring that our ethics - the low bar of morality sinks deeper into the swamp with every edition - IS the best way to keep them demon denominators falling. No question. The more they fall the more big business and society cashes in on the lazy product and services that go with. Easy! Cheap. 

Reality TV doctrine states it like that and sees to it that each 'new' sad idea sucks yet more blood from the audiences along with their cash. Whilst frowned upon publicly (through the self same media) by both the political and business ‘systems’ it’s no secret that this very clear business model exists. It is the model. Simples. 

Lowest common denominator means highest possible audiences. Numbers!

Speaking personally - as a westerner - I intensely dislike all the big three systems. I call them the unholy trinity. Politics. Business & Media. The political ‘system’ represents everything I dislike. It's corrupt, foolish, inept, untrustworthy, unhelpfully argumentative and not intelligent. It has a bad side too. Business, typified by the financial sector, needs no more 'outing' and the media, well that our diet and we get what we deserve if you agree with most commentators. And we do nothing about it because we don’t have a voice. 

Sadly we seem to lack a credible alternative to these systems. 

I don’t hear the triumphant throngs or massive hordes of fans for the fat cat salaries of the ‘system’ of Business or the 'Business of things' - Finance, Education, Health or whatever. I meet countless people who are very unhappy working for these businesses so the internal ‘systems’ are pretty messed up too. 

This isn't rocket stuff. 

But we don’t have a single ‘system’ of our own – under the control of the WE. 

One that could change any of this. We lack a unified ‘system’ outside of the 'Unholy Trinity'. I will not go into the other major ‘systems’ like religion here. I do so to avoid getting stuck/sidetracked.with the point I want to make. It is the same point.

All of these systems were borne out of command and control thinking.

Understanding the western systems means to get at the heart of our stuckness.

It will be argued - I'm sure - but I think the following is true. Most of the problems and frustration in society can be laid at the door of our inability to influence these three institutionalised ‘systems’.

I believe that they are so well entrenched and so self serving as systems that - however unintended initially - they are the cause not the solution of the problem. They are deeply woven into the subconscious. We are not really challenging them as if we thought of them as ‘systems’. We are simply anaesthetized.

Worse still they defend themselves by purporting to be at our service and disposal.

These three systems are connected and self serving - Political, Business and Media. Each is in cahoots. Each has a wink and a nod to the other when we are not looking. Sadly they wink and nod even when we are.

WE vote in the governments, we buy from the businesses and we are influenced (or say are not) by the media. But we are the recipients of all these three interlocking systems. The media swings between each color of political party in order to keep this insidious and diabolical melting pot going, business goes where the money is and governments know that this keeps all the systems oiled (as long as it can keep it in balance).

WE are immensely critical of all three and we can and do complain. We complain all the time. We've complained for as long as I can remember. But the dirty little secret is there is no WE.

There is no We. We are not WE.

Apart from the internet there isn't a ‘system’ that I can see that is representative of WE. I don’t see a ‘system’ capable of being a valid alternative in a way that balances out or alters the unholy trinity. Why would they let us is? The internet though presents a compelling opportunity. However it is merely the platform. 

WE have to use it as WE.

I remain optimistic but impatient. Slowly we see the 'unholy trinity' being challenged in critical ways.

• Media is struggling with its sales, caught in the headlights of blogs, self publishing and citizen news self-reporting. Look what is happening in the Middle East and Africa with Facebook and the social media. It’s still very free and open source has had dramatic effects to enable a fluid world of opportunity for newer and greener shoots.
• Political change is apparent via the 'voice' that is increasingly created on-line. Political blogs, surveys, manifestos, tribes and communities rising up and thankfully it is still democratized and free of too many controls. Countries are being overthrown by social media.
• Business has had to get its act together to understand the phenomenon of online channels but its early days and proves that business simply follows the mantra of shareholder return above all else. When it comes to them being sustainable or more ethical, well they will go there but only if its profitable. Organic foods is profitable so yes they do that and if alternative energy investment by the big oil companies isn’t they will pull out. They did.
• I can't speak about the Financial Services and Banking sector pay situation here. But my message would be to - enjoy it while you can you leeches as with luck a smarter generation is growing up and gonna deal with you - because my generation failed.

Well it's not surprising. It’s the system.

"The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between the way nature works and the way man thinks." - Gregory Bateson

I am suggesting that we need to be a more complete and connected 'WE' if we are to alter the thinking - and if WE wish to avoid the catastrophic implications – the pursuit of growth at the expense of all else. Well…

We humans aren’t deliberately stupid and a vast majority of us see that if WE continue this way then there is a highly predictable outcome. Destruction of the raw materials - end of the 'system'. It is finite. Our ‘system’ relies on constantly squeezing the contributors to the supply chain. The result frustrates all the mini-systems and suppliers that are implicated - constantly marginalizing them in the name of profit or efficiency and ignoring the natural systems that it raids to create the goods in the process.

Nothing stays the same. 

Such a simple statement.  Positions on this idea rage on every second of the day. It's such a natural and obvious truth and we seem utterly fascinated by the why, what and how of it all. At the same time we are so blinded by the significant opportunities presented by it.

Instead of leveraging the natural systems, evidence of which we see all around us, we fight or ignore them. Each time the natural cycles come back at us with interest. We fuss and interfere with the 'way' of things and wonder why they bite us so badly. Whether it's depleted natural resources or the differences of cultural systems leading to wars we just fail to understand what we are dealing with. 

C'mon us – let's imagine WE!

Posted via email from Just Thinking!