What Do U Meme, I Follow the Heard? - Introduction

Image from SportsRip: Group taking a selfie in front of a disastrous fire.

Today, I am introducing a new series that has essentially been composing itself in my little head since the early days of the last presidential campaign (ca. 2015). It will be centered around a number of intertwining subjects having to do with what I perceive as the continuous, cultural dumbing down of America. I say, "America," because I am not qualified to comment on any other country. My instincts tell me that intentionally profound unawareness is replacing what was once called, "truth seeking" in this country, and is presently running the risk of bleeding out into the rest of the world. Yet, I just don't know how impactful it really is at the planetary scale. People are using what they've heard instead of what they take the time to research in order to inform themselves. This is very very disturbing to me.

American culture has had a way of being adopted as the most progressive set of trends for other peoples, in other lands, at least in the past. However, what might be described as the current "too-cool-for-school" attitude is now passing beyond the lighthearted and humorous picket lines of mild scholarly concern, and into the empty factories of willful ignorance. That is a metaphor, by the way. I feel I need to point that out, since much of the population might be prompted to Google, "stupidity factory strike," and then call my writing "fake news" when no further links can be located. Of course I jest. But the trend away from the instructive power of abstract concepts, in favor of shallow outward observation, is worrisome to people schooled in deeper discourse, high quality literature, or true artistic effort (for example).

My objective is to bring back the requirement for objectivity, before subjectivity can change the subject. As irritating as it may be for those who desire the ease of operating simple minds (but are still interested in expanding those minds), I will also seek to use some - I think - unique literary methods of challenging readers to more carefully think for themselves. In this way, I hope to both illuminate what I see as key stumbling blocks to critical thinking--before it's too late, while also employing practical tools for strengthening the once-natural inclination to stop and think, by not being formulaic in any classical way. 

This may come in the form of the aforementioned-use of metaphor, but also word play, and poetic devices. But there will be primarily be a gentle prodding for the reader to find the meanings between the lines. I want you to improve these ideas and make them your own. 

I'm not trying to be clever or coy with this approach. Even folks who get a headache figuring out whether the glass is half empty or half full should be able to glean a thing or too, while still getting a chuckle every now and then. I fully admit that my efforts are likely to fall flat, because I myself may not be up self-assigned task, nor even understanding what I am writing. I've never written something so specifically designed to cause the questioning of one's own thinking habits, while also serving as an unconscious mechanism for improving the very act of thinking itself. Nevertheless, I feel like the time is right for attempting such frank efforts, mostly because I don't know how much time any of us really have left...

I will be using this series as the scaffolding for a book. In writing it as a public draft, there will be a necessity to go back and tighten things up occasionally. This will require revising former essays and fixing the confusing conceptual knots I will inevitably be tying myself up with. If people are unable to understand what I am talking about without a small amount of effort in restating any particular concept, I must take full responsibility for my failure. And I will, by eliminating the offending section.

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Thank you ahead of time for your energy and interest! My readership on recent posts has dropped to about a tenth of what it was during the heady days of my Journeying. It isn't difficult to understand why. My sea changes need to be more formally expressed. Those who like the survivalist aspects of my primitive homesteading will still be happy to find regular posts under the Life at SoftAcres series. Some poverty rants will still appear under the Life in the Second Class series.