Friday, May 9, 2008
THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION: WHY AMERICANS WILL BELIEVE ALMOST ANYTHING -- BLOG 3 (CAREY)
I completely disagree with Tim O’Shea and his stated opinion in the article, "THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION: WHY AMERICANS WILL BELIEVE ALMOST ANYTHING." He states that we are all conditioned and programmed to act and react a certain way – again a statement that I disagree with. Anyone can become anything they want, as long as you have the motivation (or lack thereof) to do it. There is no set path for any specific child to take, like in Brave New World, and someone that was raised in the lower echelons in regards to socioeconomic class can become a doctor, lawyer, politician - anything. There is a situation that I agree with the author on – in order to get any of the above jobs; you certainly need a college education. Some of those who are economically disadvantaged cannot afford college, although there are alternatives. There is also a stigma placed on attending college nowadays, and you’re somehow less intelligent for not doing so, which I disagree with. Moreover, some of the claims that O’Shea makes aren’t what we as a society intended for them to be used for. O’Shea’s statement that “AZT is the cure” of AIDS is simply not true. It just prolongs the life of those infected with HIV or AIDS.
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According to “the doors of perception why Americans will believe almost anything” all, or most Americans believe anything that is said or overheard. Tim O’Shea uses many examples of things that we as citizens are conditioned to believe and live by. In chapter 16 when Mustafa Mond and john are having their conversation Mond tells John that if all the citizens of World state were to have all of this information, and have the ability to access almost everything, it will cause more unhappiness than if we were just told by our government to believe what we believe. As a result of this, if there is any emotional, physical, or spiritual problem the cure for all of these is soma, a drug that makes one happy, and have a large sexual desire. Throughout the book review O’ Shea gives many examples of how we as human… “Canned news releases”. He then goes into showing good traits of propaganda, and how this can be done. Scientist have continuously finding out new things, and each and every new discovery is the next step to “A Brave New World”. Overall this review is very interesting to read, and it defiantly made me realize how we are manipulated each and every day.
I definitely agree with the article in the regards that Americans are easily manipulated every single day. I believe that as a society we are falling closer and closer towards the conditioned and manipulated lives that are portrayed so accurately in the novel Brave New World. I don’t believe that we are so far that we are all conditioned and programmed to act and react a certain way, but I feel that as a country we have lost sense of individualism and have fallen into a trap of social stereotyping and castes. Today, people are for the most part born into a place in society. Their social and economic status is for the most part pre-determined by their economic class. I do not think this is what capitalism stands for and I think that Huxley and O’Shea would definitely agree that this is taking an enormous step in the wrong direction as far as individualism is concerned. It is not natural for humans to be conditioned and manipulated. Brave New World is a perfect example of how this utopian idea of conditioning cannot possibly work. If we as a country keep going down the path we are headed, we too will learn this harsh lesson.
I definetly disagree on Tim O'Shea's position on "the doors of perception: why americans will believe almost anything". like stated above, Americans have a choice to whatever path they chose to do so without any predetermined fate or path. Although it is only said that without a college eductaion, you may not get the dream job you are looking for, society bends it into making it a reality, forcing those who want such jobs as a lawyer, doctor, or politician, into the comformity of college. Though I stand against this point, I can't help but to not notice the manipulation and conditioning that goes on in America, especially through the media. Until America learns to turn off the television and become in tune with themselves and the world around them they will not realize their true potential to do whatever it is they want.
After looking at "THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION:
WHY AMERICANS WILL BELIEVE ALMOST ANYTHING" by Tim O'Shea and comparing it to my own life, I have to admit... He's ridculous. To say that EVERYTHING in the media that we are exposed to are the company's "truth's" instead of reality is exaggerated. Though stretching the truth by a long mile, O'Shea does hold a few valid points. Many people know (or should) that advertising is the largest and best example of convincing people. How so? Easy, if it didn't work, companies wouldn't be investing in them. On top of that, a company's commerical, when usually interesting enough, get spoken of amongst others, only spreading them further, and setting a greater foundation in people's head that if someone else must like the commerical, the product must be good. Worst of all, the big companies that monopolize their market, have convinced the population that for what ever the need, the solution is ONLY their product. For example, my own mother, whenever she has a headache, it's not "get me an asprin", it's "get me a Aleve". THAT is where O'Shea's truth lies.
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