[MD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r-e2NDSTuE

I'm completely comfortable in my spiritual condition. Don't watch this if you are not.

[KaiserJeep]

One of his better routines. This one is even funnier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0aFPXr4n4

[Cog]

I suspect Carlin has learned the truth by now since he has been dead since 2008.

[KaiserJeep]

I suspect Carlin has learned the truth by now since he has been dead since 2008.

I wonder if he even noticed.

[Ibon]

An American Prophet.

[ralfy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_religion

[KaiserJeep]

The above Wikipedia article was obviously written by a Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/etc., since that is the most intense, earnest, profane, and all-consuming of the secular religions that plague us today. Whatever Liberal ideals exist are generally all-consuming, for example the sizeable clique of AGW fanboys here at PO.com.

This topic was discussed at length on The O'Reilly Factor yesterday, in the context of a larger/lengthier discussion of the hearings for Trump's appointees. One of those was David Friedman, his selection for US Ambassador to Israel. O'Reilly mentioned that he could not understand why about 70% of the American Jews vote Dimmycrat. His long time political commentator Bernie Goldberg replied that most American Jews today have a secular religion called Liberalism, and that it is among the most fanatical of religions, where the followers are only loosely associated with reality, and are obsessed with transforming the world which exists into the world of their ideals.

Later on during the viewer E-mail segment at the end of the show, someone noted that among the approximately 30% of American Jews who maintain traditionalist views and still worship in temples, the preference for Republicans is almost universal.

Afterwards I thought about what was said and realized that they were correct. The unending struggle between Liberal/Progressives and Conservative/Traditionalists is more properly considered a religious conflict than anything else, despite the fact that those with conventional secular beliefs are among the majority on both sides. Luckily for Americans, we fight such battles in the political arenas, using votes as our weapons. Else this place would make Afghanistan look peaceful in contrast.

All of this was said in the slowly fading frenzy of one of our great battles, where a Reality TV star and Real Estate tycoon has just pulled off an upset victory over an entirely corrupt conventional politician, upsetting the political faithful on both sides of the conflict. I'm sorry if this disturbs you, but in my view this political upset has already made Donald Trump one of the most successful of modern presidents, because we needed a reset in our politics/religion.

[Ibon]

KJ, the problem with picking apart the inner workings of liberals or conservatives is that you you become at best an astute pawn.

There is something quite enlightening about non engagement with the media and avoiding these discussions.

You are retired and watching Fox news or Msnbc.

Turn the fxxking shit off. It's poison my friend. You have precious few years and the creative possibilities are endless

[KaiserJeep]

I am slowly readying my house for sale, and if the wife doesn't come around to my point of view, I may surprise her with a real estate sign in the yard later this Spring. I expect to retire in rural splendor, but I'm not there yet. In fact my former job still enters my dreams disturbingly often, and it will have been two years on May 31.

Ibon, I do respect your views and consider you a friend, but I'm not quite ready to completely accept everything you say. You are, after all, an American who is living on top of a mountain in a Panamanian jungle. That is a trifle unconventional.

[MD]

KJ, the problem with picking apart the inner workings of liberals or conservatives is that you you become at best an astute pawn.

There is something quite enlightening about non engagement with the media and avoiding these discussions.

You are retired and watching Fox news or Msnbc.

Turn the fxxking shit off. It's poison my friend. You have precious few years and the creative possibilities are endless

I watch all of the above, and more. I agree that propaganda can be poisonous to the many, yet it's instructive to the few that employ critical thinking filters.

[KaiserJeep]

MD, I watch a variety of news sources, but I also have a life. I watch the PBS News Hour because it at least pretends to journalistic standards, which puts it a step above the (invariably Democratic partisan) commercial networks. Then I watch the BBC News on cable for international perspectives, and FOX News on cable for conservative views. All three, every week day, plus local news on the ABC affiliate at 11PM seven days a week. Even when you skip the nonsense and commentary, a lot of time spent.

Got any tips to reduce the time involved?

[Ibon]

KJ, the problem with picking apart the inner workings of liberals or conservatives is that you you become at best an astute pawn.

There is something quite enlightening about non engagement with the media and avoiding these discussions.

You are retired and watching Fox news or Msnbc.

Turn the fxxking shit off. It's poison my friend. You have precious few years and the creative possibilities are endless

I watch all of the above, and more. I agree that propaganda can be poisonous to the many, yet it's instructive to the few that employ critical thinking filters.

I watch none of the above anymore, and I am even withdrawing mostly from media sites on the internet. I am focusing on our guests, my immediate community, on the wildlife around us. It is exactly critical thinking that has drawn me to the conclusion that engaging in the macro news topics has now become a thoroughly toxic enterprise. Furthermore, it is playing into a world view that I want no part of. That none of us should actually. I see the news outlets like the tobacco industry 25 years ago selling you freedom while finely regulating the nicotine in their products to addict you.

[KaiserJeep]

-snip-

I watch none of the above anymore, and I am even withdrawing mostly from media sites on the internet. I am focusing on our guests, my immediate community, on the wildlife around us. It is exactly critical thinking that has drawn me to the conclusion that engaging in the macro news topics has now become a thoroughly toxic enterprise. Furthermore, it is playing into a world view that I want no part of. That none of us should actually. I see the news outlets like the tobacco industry 25 years ago selling you freedom while finely regulating the nicotine in their products to addict you.

Making progress on the goal of growing from reclusive clan Patriarch to hermit clan Patriarch, it would appear.

If it helps your mental health, by all means withdraw. However, I believe in the greater scheme of things, it is contra-survival.

[Ibon]

Making progress on the goal of growing from reclusive clan Patriarch to hermit clan Patriarch, it would appear.

It's about focusing on real people, real places, organic real community. All the digital stream of information is just a bunch of abstractions, using your term actually.

When your organic social world is rich then the macro media and digital streams do not penetrate too deeply into your psyche. When you are socially somewhat reclusive then you tend to be more influenced by the main stream media. When I see posters overly obsessing and getting locked into binary political positions I usually have a mental image of them as being socially misfits, lonely suburbanites, perhaps physically unfit, often obese. I don't know if these are unfair stereotypes but I fear they are true.

I really do not want to "socialize" with social media with these types of personalities. They are lonely and often angry folks.

[MD]

I watch all of the above, and more. I agree that propaganda can be poisonous to the many, yet it's instructive to the few that employ critical thinking filters.

I watch none of the above anymore, and I am even withdrawing mostly from media sites on the internet. I am focusing on our guests, my immediate community, on the wildlife around us. It is exactly critical thinking that has drawn me to the conclusion that engaging in the macro news topics has now become a thoroughly toxic enterprise. Furthermore, it is playing into a world view that I want no part of. That none of us should actually. I see the news outlets like the tobacco industry 25 years ago selling you freedom while finely regulating the nicotine in their products to addict you.

Quite so. I too focus most of my activity very locally. The time I do spend watching the various news outlets (including pbs, bbc, rt, aj, and the aforementioned others) is less than an hour per day of careful surfing with a half smirk and "I can't believe this shit!" attitude. I watch in attempt to glean some insight into "what they are up to", which I conclude is mostly "No Good".

The gopher analogy fits. Stick head up out of the burrow, look around at the wide world, and duck back inside.