[font=courier new][size=8pt]I hope you are right, Charles.
I would like to get a fast Internet connection.
On the other hand, I like to read, and I always have.
It seems, that way, I get more information, and it seems to be easier then not to be swayed by the emotional bias of the author.
I think that sight and sound can be very effective tools to manipulate people's emotions.
People seem to me to be so easy to manipulate. I ride the train on most days, and I see that most people have become unable to sit still. They have to always be fidgeting with their audio and video devices. I hear them constantly talking on their phones; in my opinion, having conversations about nothing, "Now, I'm scratching my elbow. The sun is too bright..". I seem to be pessimistic by nature. Various people have independently used the phrase, "too negative", when describing me. But, I wonder how much further into the future, that the majority of people will be able to read and write. And, I wonder the same about doing simple arithmetic.
We still use keyboards to interact with our computers. I bet that, in ten years, people will look at a keyboard like a Stone Age tool. So, then, reading and writing may head for extinction. Similarly, concerning arithmetic. Why learn how much 2 + 2 is, when you can ask a machine? I can see a future in which most people become like the Eloi, of, H.G.Wells', The Time Machine. (And, our real world equivalent to the Morlocks, feeds on them.)
I agree that the world has become much more transparent. I hope it stays that way. The puppet masters love to be able to deceive the people. Then, they have nothing to fear. I think that is why they always misdirect public anger and frustration. They direct the people into hating a vulnerable group that is convenient to use as a scapegoat. Then, the people don't realize that the puppet masters are the real source of their misery. If and when the people do realize the truth, it makes life much more difficult for the manipulators. They may no longer be physically safe. That is when the hammer comes down. If the people cannot be controlled by deception, then they must be controlled by plainly visible force. That would include monitoring, controlling, and limiting the exchange of information. I don't think the power elite likes the current freedom on the Internet. I think that they are already trying to gain control of the Internet, and they will continue to do so. I think that the more their deeds are exposed, the angrier they become, and the more force they will use in fighting back.
Now, I have to hurry to catch the train, and hear more mindless talking. I swear that some people need constant conversation, in order to reassure themselves of their own existence.
Dan
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