Penny Lane 8/30

During this week’s discussion the concept of normalcy truly came into question under my personal outlook. Today, we live in a world of pseudo-reality shows, both the glorified and defiled celebrity prototypes alike, news as entertainment, along with a constant perceived threat upon our national security. With all of these examples at the forefront of our media exposure, one must begin to wonder how to distinguish the real from the fabricated. Almost everything we are shown on television is postured for an anticipated result in the viewing public. We are constantly coerced into a perpetual cycle of fear that brings in new hysterical dilemmas as quickly as a revolving glass door. Fear tactics garner audiences, but most importantly keep them distracted from the greater issues. The American public has been intentionally left oblivious to almost all scandalous and or classified information throughout modern history. Unfortunately this pattern insures that the most pressing secrets of today will not be revealed for several generations, if that at all. For instance, the identity of Watergate’s “deep-throat” was only finally revealed in 2005 to guarantee the safety of William Mark Felt Sr. With this scenario in mind, I find now a more critical time than ever to learn about the subject of mass media. Enlightenment of the human condition in the new millennium as in the past is best paraphrased with the following quote from Plato’s Apology: I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing. By accepting our ignorance to reality, we can begin to uncover the layers of fallacy that saturate our daily lives.