Free Dumb

Do you have a clue of how many toxic chemicals we take in through the standard American diet? If not, you should look it up because there are literally thousands of publications about it. But what about the standard American diet of media? Do you have any idea how much toxic, polluting content we absorb? This recent election cycle gave us a glimpse. Through a plethora of media outlets we can be controlled and literally programmed. People develop trained reactions and thought processes by way of media influences. We love what we love because the media has told us to. We hate what we hate because the media has ingrained in our psyches to do so. We proclaim freedom but enslave our minds to a literal onslaught of stimulation and distraction.

We give up the power to think for self because we let the voices in the media tell us what to think. We then repeat exactly what they say. For instance, if the media, along with the majority of society, says a certain person or idea is hateful, the average person will adopt the same perspective and spread that point of view about the person. Even without researching anything in-depth about the person or their views!

We even tend to buy what we buy—not because the products are the best quality—because instructions have been drilled into our psyches to get said products. While there is probably someone making a better product out of a local shop or their own home.

Have you ever just sat by and observed a person who’s been watching television for hours? Have you seen that hypnotized gaze? The dazed, catatonic-like state of apparent powerlessness? It’s not always a news source that is pounding the chisel on the mind. The volition is deadened by repetitious advertisements, buffoonery, even highly stimulating plots, images and creative stories can dull the human spirit. When we give up our own imagination to replace it with, essentially, the work of someone else’s we do a grave injustice. Think about this being done over the course of days and years and decades. What happens to the individual?

How can you become free of such programming? Limit how much TV you watch. I say mute the TV or change the channel when the commercials come on. Turn off the radio sometimes and just listen to your surroundings. Sounds maddening at first but over time your mind will adapt and become more calm. Find something to do with your own mind. Something creative, relaxing or actively fun. Be careful what music you listen to, especially when it’s just playing in the background. And especially look up information about the topics and issues you are interested in. Be objective and don’t just listen to everything you’re told through the media. Live like a human. Not a humanoid robot.

#My500Words

Check it, to all my real emcees … ha, no just being silly. This post is about me doing something I want to do yet do not want to do. I am committing to write something every single day for 31 days straight. Not just writing something but writing 500 words each day. It is a plan/method devised by Jeff Goins, I have joined this plan today. This is the prompt for day 1: Commit. Specifically, do so by announcing it. Hence … I have no clue what I’m going to write about. I try to write poetry every day (keyword “try” … *cue Yoda quote*) but it doesn’t always happen. I may try to apply this [attempted] habit to this plan or I might just write randomness. I am thinking about writing parts of a story, as that is something I want to do someday. Write a dope story, as an actual book. Straight up dope creative fiction. I figure this will be a good way to start brainstorming. Yet at the same time I feeel like it might be a waste of such a useful time period of developing this crucial habit. I suppose the mere practice of applying the effort and skill prevents it from being a waste in itself. As I am writing this I am realizing how much five hundred words is. Sheesh. You might have noticed I have stopped using contractions, I have also begun writing out numbers instead of using numerals (e.g. “five hundred” instead of 500). I have also begun inserting parentheticals somewhat unnecessarily (see previous sentence). (Then see precious sentence… again. As in the sentence before this one.) I might also invoke the tendency to use extensive and logorrheic language… wait that’s more letters, not words—useless. I forgot to eliminate the use of contractions in that last sentence, but it is ok because it has served to work out better as I am now explaining that mistake. I sure hope the thirty-one day’s does not go like this because if it does… boy, what a drudgery. I still have so much left to write. Perhaps this is because I am significantly hungry, and tired. My brain feels weary. I am pretty sure this was not supposed to be a free write. I do not even have any kind of paragraph structure or anything in this. If someone is actually reading through this whole thing, I sincerely apologize for what you are witnessing and experiencing. I hope you are a fan of random musings about random musings being writtenly randomly. I know one thing, if I go the route of getting up early everyday for this I better come up with some better material than this. (Note the dual uses of the same word in previous sentence. Actually I am kind of just trying to get to five hundred words faster. Not use of words for number instead of numerals.) Have you ever heard the one about the guy at work, on the tablet… —Oh! Five hundred words.