From Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman.docx
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From Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman.docx
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FromAmusingOurselvestoDeathbyNeilPostman
FromAmusingOurselvestoDeathbyNeilPostman
Foreword
Wewerekeepingoureyeon1984.Whentheyearcameandtheprophecydidn't,thoughtfulAmericanssangsoftlyinpraiseofthemselves.Therootsofliberaldemocracyhadheld.Whereverelsetheterrorhadhappened,we,atleast,hadnotbeenvisitedbyOrwellian
nightmares.
ButwehadforgottenthatalongsideOrwell'sdarkvision,therewasanother-slightlyolder,slightlylesswellknown,equallychilling:
AldousHuxley'sBraveNewWorld.Contraryto
commonbeliefevenamongtheeducated,HuxleyandOrwelldidnotprophesythesamething.Orwellwarnsthatwewillbeovercomebyanexternallyimposedoppression.ButinHuxley'svision,noBigBrotherisrequiredtodeprivepeopleoftheirautonomy,maturityaridhistory.Ashesawit,peoplewillcometolovetheiroppression,toadorethetechnologiesthatundotheircapacitiestothink.
WhatOrwellfearedwerethosewhowouldbanbooks.WhatHuxleyfearedwasthattherewouldbenoreasontobanabook,fortherewouldbenoonewhowantedtoreadone.Orwellfearedthosewhowoulddepriveusofinformation.Huxleyfearedthosewhowouldgiveussomuchthatwewouldbereducedtopassivityandegoism.Orwellfearedthatthetruthwouldbeconcealedfromus.Huxleyfearedthetruthwouldbedrownedinaseaofirrelevance.Orwellfearedwewouldbecomeacaptiveculture.Huxleyfearedwewouldbecomeatrivialculture,preoccupiedwithsomeequivalentofthefeelies([Huxley'ssensestimulatingmovies],theorgyporgy[groupsexinthenovel],andthecentrifugalbumblepuppy[achild'sgameinthenovel;seedescriptionatendofessay].AsHuxleyremarkedinBraveNewWorldRevisited,thecivil
libertariansandrationalistswhoareeveronthealerttoopposetyranny"failedtotakeintoaccountman'salmostinfiniteappetitefordistractions."In1984,Huxleyadded,peoplearc
controlledbyinflictingpain,InBraveNewWorld,theyarecontrolledbyinflictingpleasure.In
short,Orwellfearedthatwhatwehatewillruinus.Huxleyfearedthatwhatwelovewillruinus.ThisbookisaboutthepossibilitythatHuxley,notOrwell,wasright.
TheHuxleyanWarning
Therearetwowaysbywhichthespiritofaculturemaybeshriveled.Inthefirst-theOrwellian
-culturebecomesaprison.Inthesecond-theHuxleyan-culturebecomesaburlesque.Nooneneedstoberemindedthatourworldisnowmarredbymanyprison-cultureswhosestructureOrwelldescribedaccuratelyinhisparables.Ifoneweretoreadboth1984andAnimal
Farm,andthenforgoodmeasure,ArthurKoestler'sDarknessatNoon,onewouldhaveafairly
preciseblueprintofthemachineryofthought-controlasitcurrentlyoperatesinscoresofcountriesandonmillionsofpeople.Ofcourse,Orwellwasnotthefirsttoteachusaboutthespiritualdevastationsoftyranny.Whatisirreplaceableabouthisworkishisinsistencethatitmakeslittledifferenceifourwardensareinspiredbyright-orleft-wingideologies.Thegatesof
theprisonareequallyimpenetrable,surveillanceequallyrigorous,iconworshipequallypervasive.
WhatHuxleyteachesisthatintheageofadvancedtechnology,spiritualdevastationismorelikelytocomefromanenemywithasmilingfacethanfromonewhosecountenanceexudessuspicionandhate.IntheHuxleyanprophecy,BigBrotherdoesnotwatchus,byhischoice.Wewatchhim,byours.ThereisnoneedforwardensorgatesorMinistriesofTruth.Whenapopulationbecomesdistractedbytrivia,whenculturallifeisredefinedasaperpetualroundof
entertainments,whenseriouspublicconversationbecomesaformofbaby-talk,when,inshort,apeoplebecomeanaudienceandtheirpublicbusinessavaudevilleact,thenanationfindsitselfatrisk;culture-deathisaclearpossibility.
InAmerica,Orwell'spropheciesareofsmallrelevance,butHuxley'sarewellunderwaytowardbeingrealized.ForAmericaisengagedintheworld'smostambitiousexperimentto
accommodateitselftothetechnologicaldistractionsmadepossiblebytheelectricplug.Thisisanexperimentthatbeganslowlyandmodestlyinthemid-nineteenthcenturyandhasnow,inthelatterhalfofthetwentieth,reachedaperversematurityinAmerica'sconsuminglove-affairwithtelevision.Asnowhereelseintheworld,Americanshavemovedfarandfastinbringingtoaclosetheageoftheslow-movingprintedword,andhavegrantedtotelevisionsovereigntyoveralloftheirinstitutions.ByusheringintheAgeofTelevision,AmericahasgiventheworldtheclearestavailableglimpseoftheHuxleyanfuture.
Thosewhospeakaboutthismattermustoftenraisetheirvoicestoanear-hystericalpitch,invitingthechargethattheyareeverythingfromwimpstopublicnuisancestoJeremiahs.Buttheydosobecausewhattheywantotherstoseeappearsbenign,whenitisnotinvisiblealtogether.AnOrwellianworldismucheasiertorecognize,andtooppose,thanaHuxleyan.Everythinginourbackgroundhaspreparedustoknowandresistaprisonwhenthegatesbegintoclosearoundus.Wearenotlikely,forexample,tobeindifferenttothevoicesofthe
SakharovsandtheMandelasandtheWalesas.Wetakearmsagainstsuchaseaoftroubles,buttressedbythespiritofMilton,Bacon,Voltaire,GoetheandJefferson.Butwhatiftherearenocriesofanguishtobeheard?
Whoispreparedtotakearmsagainstaseaofamusements?
Towhomdowecomplain,andwhen,andinwhattoneofvoice,whenseriousdiscoursedissolvesintogiggles?
Whatistheantidotetoaculture’sbeingdrainedbylaughter?
Ifearthatourphilosophershavegivenusnoguidanceinthismatter.Theirwarningshavecustomarilybeendirectedagainstthoseconsciouslyformulatedideologiesthatappealtotheworsttendenciesinhumannature.ButwhatishappeninginAmericaisnotthedesignofanarticulatedideology.NoMeinKampforCommunistManifestoannounceditscoming.Itcomes
astheunintendedconsequenceofadramaticchangeinourmodesofpublicconversation.Butitisanideologynonetheless,foritimposesawayoflife,asetofrelationsamongpeopleandideas,aboutwhichtherehasbeennoconsensus,nodiscussionandnoopposition.Onlycompliance.Publicconsciousnesshasnotyetassimilatedthepointthattechnologyisideology.This,inspiteofthefactthatbeforeourveryeyestechnologyhasalteredeveryaspectoflifeinAmericaduringthepasteightyyears.Forexample,itwouldhavebeenexcusablein1905forustobeunpreparedfortheculturalchangestheautomobilewouldbring.Whocouldhavesuspectedthenthattheautomobilewouldtellushowweweretoconductoursocialandsexuallives?
Wouldreorient
ourideasaboutwhattodowithourforestsandcities?
Wouldcreatenewwaysofexpressingourpersonalidentityandsocialstanding?
Butitismuchlaterinthegamenow,andignoranceofthescoreisinexcusable.Tobeunawarethatatechnologycomesequippedwithaprogramforsocialchange,tomaintainthattechnologyisneutral,tomaketheassumptionthattechnologyisalwaysafriendtocultureis,atthislatehour,stupidityplainandsimple.Moreover,wehaveseenenoughbynowtoknowthattechnologicalchangesinourmodesofcommunicationareevenmoreideology-ladenthanchangesinourmodesoftransportation.Introducethealphabettoacultureandyouchangeitscognitivehabits,itssocialrelations,itsnotionsofcommunity,historyandreligion.Introducetheprintingpresswithmovabletype,andyoudothesame.Introducespeed-of-lighttransmissionofimagesandyoumakeaculturalrevolution.Withoutavote.Withoutpolemics.Withoutguerrillaresistance.Hereisideology,pureifnotserene.Hereisideologywithoutwords,andallthemorepowerfulfortheirabsence.Allthatisrequiredtomakeitstickisapopulationthatdevoutlybelievesintheinevitabilityofprogress.Andinthissense,allAmericansareMarxists,forwebelievenothingifnotthathistoryismovingustowardsomepreordainedparadiseandthattechnologyistheforcebehindthatmovement.
Thus,therearenearinsurmountabledifficultiesforanyonewhohaswrittensuchabookasthis,andwhowishestoenditwithsomeremediesfortheaffliction.Inthefirstplace,noteveryonebelievesacureisneeded,andinthesecond,thereprobablyisn'tany.Butasatrue-blueAmericanwhohasimbibedtheunshakablebeliefthatwherethereisaproblem,theremustbeasolution,Ishallconcludewiththefollowingsuggestions.
Wemust,asastart,notdeludeourselveswithpreposterousnotionssuchasthestraightLudditepositionasoutlined,forexample,inJerryMander'sFourArgumentsfortheEliminationof
Television.Americanswillnotshutdownanypartoftheirtechnologicalapparatus,andtosuggestthattheydosoistomakenosuggestionatall.Itisalmostequallyunrealistictoexpectthatnontrivialmodificationsintheavailabilityofmediawilleverbemade.Manycivilizednationslimitbylawtheamountofhourstelevisionmayoperateandtherebymitigatetheroletelevisionplaysinpubliclife.ButIbelievethatthisisnotapossibilityinAmerica.OncehavingopenedtheHappyMediumtofullpublicview,wearenotlikelytocountenanceevenitspartialclosing.Still,someAmericanshavebeenthinkingalongtheselines.AsIwrite,astoryappearsinTheNewYorkTimes(September27,1984)abouttheplansoftheFarmington,Connecticut,LibraryCounciltosponsora"TVTurnoff."itappearsthatsuchaneffortwasmadethepreviousyear,theideabeingtogetpeopletostopwatchingtelevisionforonemonth.TheTimesreports
thattheturnoffthepreviousJanuarywaswidelynotedbythemedia.Ms.EllenBabcock,whosefamilypartic
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