The Media is Going to Pot.

I feel as if my mentality is being eroded away. I feel that I am dying a cerebral death because of the media, specifically advertising, and ‘Facebook’.

There is so much stupidity about that assumes people are gullible enough to believe anything that is placed before them.

Few people question. They just accept and follow, believe or ‘share’, maybe.

We have advertisements for the latest toothbrush that advocate their purchase because the man that is explaining about its benefits is wearing a white coat. He is, therefore, an expert—a scientist, perhaps.

There was nothing wrong with the toothbrushes that I used as a child but we are required to buy the ‘new’, the ‘latest’, the ‘trendiest’ with ‘improved formula’ or ‘design’.

It is all rubbish.

I could tell you all about the greatest marketing strategy ever implemented but you may not believe it.

Oh, all right. I will tell you.

In 1941, when Britain was apparently losing the war with Germany and before the Americans had risen from their morning coffee, Winston Churchill summoned his closest aides and the corporate ‘Powers-that-Be’ to a meeting in his War Cabinet.

He told them, “When we win this war...”

There was no doubt. He was convinced that, however dark things appear, we should prevail.

“When we win this war,” he said, “we shall need to revert Great Britain from a war footing to a commercial footing. I need you to tell me, now, what we need to focus upon to do that.”

Some weeks later they all convened again.

They all told him that the one thing that was needed to put Britain back as a commercial endeavour was?

Television.

Of course, television was then in its infancy. My mother, as I have mentioned previously, was in on the development of TV and radar with ‘Marconi’ just before the war.

So these powers developed a plan that would culminate in one specific event:

Firstly they would introduce the radio system called ‘British Broadcasting Corporation’ (BBC) to television viewers. A simple television set with ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’ control.

The second stage was to introduce a commercial channel. This would become ‘Independent Television’ (ITV). This would require people to buy a new set that had a two-channel switch on it.

Third? BBC2. Now you need a set with three switches.

Manufacturers caught on. They had variable tuners now. So. How to get around that?

Easy. Change to a different frequency. VHF. Now you needed a different aerial, too. Plus, the bonus was that the neighbours could all see if you had the ‘new’ system by looking at your roof. The advantage was that the number of lines on the screen changed from 425 to 625 (yes, I know – 525 in the US!).

Then they introduced the killer blow.

Colour.

The plan was that all the British Isles would have colour coverage by the mid-1960’s.

Why”

Because the World Cup football (soccer) would be in UK in 1966 and the World would be able to see it in glorious, living, colour.

Remember, this plan for the continuation of the TV industry was proposed and implemented in 1941!

How did they know that the World Cup would be in England in 1966? Because they did know. It was a fact.

The American TV industry died off well before the UK industry because they went all out for colour right away.

Impatient.

I mentioned ‘Facebook’, right?

I also just mentioned ‘facts’, right?

Indeed.

There are so many specious and spurious arguments on ‘Facebook’ now.

For instance, you worship a tree that grows in the middle of the Sahara Desert. This tree is, thus, magic, it is the wellspring of eternal life and is, therefore holy.

Great. We shall (conveniently) ignore the idea that it has been growing there since before man arrived on Earth when the Sahara was lush and green, that it has now got a taproot that grows down to hell so that it finds the sub-Saharan aquifer and that it is tired and wants, desperately, to die.

The ‘Tree’ believers say, "We have read your holy books and they give us no proof. There is no evidence within their pages that tell us that you are right.

"WE have the tree".

Good for you. As if I care, really.

Then the ‘Tree Believers’ will tell us a ‘fact’.

They will tell you that sucking on the burnt end of a cucumber will cure AIDs.

It is, they tell us, a fact. There is no evidence to support it but it is eminently believable they tell us. We are to accept it verbatim.

Oh, good.

We are, after all, gullible.

They tell us that cannabis, for example, is wonderful. That the facts are that it will cure us of all ills. So it will.

Perhaps we should look at some of the ‘facts’.

Fact:

Cannabis, in the form of hemp, makes great rope.

Cannabis has many therapeutic forms, medical Cannabis is good for you when prescribed by a Doctor.

There is unsubstantiated (at present) evidence that says Cannabis resin can cure some human maladies.

Cannabis is a good resource as a bio-fuel.

Cannabis can be eaten in a processed state and is, we are told, tasty.

More facts:

Cannabis, when smoked, contains more tars than nicotine in ‘normal’ cigarettes and so is at least as likely to cause lung cancer. If cannabis cures cancer, then keep going—we will watch.

In spite of claims to the contrary, smoking Cannabis is addictive. That is why people keep smoking it.

Smoking Cannabis causes distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch), problems with memory and learning, loss of coordination, trouble with thinking and problem-solving, increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure. Sometimes marijuana use can also produce anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic.

Carl Sagan is sometimes quoted as being a marijuana smoker. He said, people tell us, that he enjoyed it. They do not tell you everything he said. He said that he smokes it once a month or once every two months and always on a Friday night so that it would not interfere with his work. Smoking marijuana gave him great thoughts, great insights—he just wishes he could remember what those ideas were on Sunday night!

People will give you half a fact and expect you to believe it implicitly. They will misquote and take things out of context.

They will never expect you to look for proof and yet they will require proof of a belief system.

Before you post anything or ‘share’ anything check it. Make sure it is right. ‘Google’ it or go to ‘Snopes’.

The biggest virus I get is people warning about ‘viruses’! The vast majority of them are hoaxes!

Keep the hate mail coming in—I have a delete button.