IDIOCRACY, The Big Bang Theory and the Dumbing Down of America

by Chris Chaos

 IDIOCRACY:
The film Idiocracy (2006) is a great commentary on the steady decline of the modern mind and society, I actually (humorously) consider this flick a social documentary. It opens with:

"As the twenty-first century began, human evolution was at a turning point. Natural selection, the process by which the strongest, the smartest, the fastest reproduced in greater numbers than the rest, a process which had once favored the noblest traits of man, now began to favor different traits.

Most science fiction of the day predicted a future that was more civilized and more intelligent. But as time went on, things seemed to be heading in the opposite direction — a dumbing down. How did this happen? Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence. With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most and left the intelligent to become an endangered species." [1]

Based on this, it is a slightly exaggerated  statement that the "smarter" people in the film were the ones that used their time wisely and had all the money. On the flip side the more "unintelligent" people were the ones that rushed into everything, had kids and were poor. But of course the majority of the people that see this film identify with the intelligent ones and feel that getting rid of the poor and stupid people will solve all their problems. Irony exists and possibly a double standard, if you spent your valuable time watching this movie as opposed to researching and finding a cure for cancer or solving other problems of the world, then you are part of the problem.

Link to IMDB site:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

Pop culture and its watered down knowledge and teachings is more popular than logic and science. In the movie, "Ow My Balls" is a favorite TV show and takes up all the viewers free time.

THE BIG BANG THEORY:

Currently The Big Bang Theory [2] is one of the most popular TV in the united States. I am not a big fan of the modern sitcom nor of the currently unfunny "comedy" shows that network television has to offer, but I had to see why so many people stated that it was a really good show. I watched two episodes of this show and...well, I understand that comedy taste is subjective..but...is voting against your own interests just dumb or ignorant...or both?

Much of the plot centers around the typical sitcom dramas between friends but interjects little pseudo science into the dialog to make the viewers feel a little more intelligent about themselves. This is almost as ridiculous as the viewers thinking they are know forensic police investigations after watching CSI or similar entertainment shows.

A staple in most modern sitcoms is the canned laughter (pre-recorded laughter in lieu of a real studio audience's laughter). Big Bang theory is no exception. Nothing says more than lack of Will than when being told when and what to laugh at.

THE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA:
Journalist Susan Jacoby stated that the denseness—“a virulent mixture of anti-rationalism and low expectations”—was more of a permanent state. Politicians have a  creeping tendency to refer to everyone—voters, experts, government officials—as “folks” is “symptomatic of a debasement of public speech inseparable from a more general erosion of American cultural standards,” she wrote. “Casual, colloquial language also conveys an implicit denial of the seriousness of whatever issue is being debated: talking about folks going off to war is the equivalent of describing rape victims as girls.” [3]

That inarticulate legacy didn’t end with George W. Bush and Sarah Palin. Barack Obama, the most cerebral and eloquent American leader in a generation, regularly plays the same card, droppin’ his Gs and dialing down his vocabulary to Hee Haw standards. His ability to convincingly play a hayseed was instrumental in his 2012 campaign against the patrician Mitt Romney; in one of their televised debates the President referenced “folks” 17 times.

The spread of willful ignorance seems to be spreading and is not isolated to high end specialized subjects. Uninformed opinion can become self destructive when embraced over logic and then passed around as fact. The internet and social media sites spread false information like herpes in the form of poor written memes and people bravely wear their ignorance as badges of honor on bumper stickers on their car. The average person seems to be in a rush to embrace the stupid and hell bent on an irrational and anti-science path.

If ignorance is contagious, it’s high time to put the United States in quarantine.

In the United States, reconciling science and religious belief remains oddly difficult. A national poll, conducted in March for the Associated Press, found that 42 per cent of Americans are “not too” or “not at all” confident that all life on Earth is the product of evolution. Similarly, 51 per cent of people expressed skepticism that the universe started with a “big bang” 13.8 billion years ago, and 36 per cent doubted the Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years.

Reading trends are not encouraging. In 1978, 42 per cent of Americans reported that they had read 11 or more books in the past year. In 2014, just 28 per cent can say the same, while 23 per cent proudly admit to not having read even one, up from eight per cent in 1978.

Less information provided to our throw away fast food consumer style general public is getting even smaller. The average length of a sound bite by a presidential candidate in 1968 was 42.3 seconds. Two decades later, it was 9.8 seconds. Today, it’s just a touch over seven seconds and well on its way to being supplanted by 140-character Twitter bursts.

The term “elitist” has become one of the most used, and feared, insults in American life. Even in the country’s halls of higher learning, there is now an ingrained bias that favors the accessible over the exacting.

The very mission of universities has changed, states Catherine Liu. “We don’t educate people anymore. We train them to get jobs.” Baby Boomers, she says, deserve most of the blame. “They were so triumphalist in promoting pop culture and demoting the canon.” [4]

With all the world's knowledge accessible to the average person, the lack of investigative skills and critical thinking has somehow only enhanced the lowest common denominators—LOL cat videos, memes and the Kardashians. Instead of educating themselves via the Internet, most people simply use it to validate what they already suspect, wish or believe to be true. Cherry picking ONLY which confirms your thoughts and ignoring conflicting facts is called confirmation bias.

[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
[2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/
[3] The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
[4]  American Idyll: Academic Antielitism as Cultural Critique

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

When Debate Turns into Argument

by Chris Chaos

DEBATE:
A discussion, as of a public question in an assembly, involving opposing viewpoints. A formal contest in which the affirmative and negative sides of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers.

ARGUMENT:
An oral disagreement; verbal opposition; contention; altercation. Usually the negative aspects of a debate.

I routinely avoid debating with most people since the art of a debater usually degenerates into an "argument that I must win!" People do not use debates to learn from someone that holds a different opinion, nor to educate themselves and not even to try to convince another of their viewpoint. Many appear to be bored or just like to be a troll and start issues among people different than themselves.

There are some very familiar and consistent occurrences that manifest during the debate as it withers into an argument that is governed more by winning than being correct or fair during. Some participants may be simply uninformed, uneducated, sore losers, attention seekers or blatant liars. Another symptom of a bad debate is that people are more worried about speaking on their topic and refuse to hear the opposing side. How many times did you reasonably listen to another with a different opinion and then did a 180 degree turn once you realized that your information was incorrect or invalid? Debates are multi-sided and all views are valid, so hear them out. Another very
important piece of information to remember during a debate is that there is a huge difference between an opinion and facts.

OPINION:
A belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

FACT:
Something that actually exists; reality; truth. Something known to exist or to have happened. A truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true.

A debate is supposed to be the presentation of your side and injected into a group of others whom do not share your particular point of view, experiences or opinions. A positive debate should find middle ground and never descend into an argument. If dealing with opinions that are so conflicting that middle ground cannot be reached, it would be smarter to just avoid further contact rather than entertain an argument. Some common end result and extinction of debate examples are below. Of course the examples given are not "all across the board", but occur with such frequency that they must be included. As with any large group there are many variations.

When attempting to debate with a Christian (this can include far right, born again or any of the various branches of Christianity):
Although the topic varies, the debate starts and then usually concludes with nothing concrete or logical and finished in an argument with a variation of: " My/The Bible/God says you are going to hell." The leverage here is that the Christian thinks that by instilling fear into an adversary it will scare them back onto their side. Regardless of the topic being discussed it usually boils down to a difference of opinion, lifestyle and personal beliefs.

When attempting to debate with a Conservative: 
Usually the conservative's adversary is a liberal and they define a conservative's ideals as outdated, racist, sexist and in need of progress. Conservatives usually feel that others should conform to these mentioned ideals which will obviously create conflict among others with opposing viewpoints.In an effort to cling to their traditions, values and way of life, sometimes they forget that others live their lives differently. Usually culminated with the attitude of "Since you do not do as I do and believe as I believe, you are un-American (to a traditional conservative) or un-Christian (to a religious conservative)."

When attempting to debate with a Liberal:
Many self labeled liberals come from well off families who handed them everything on a silver platter and come equipped with an attitude of entitlement. Real world experience is not their strong point and some of their opinions will be based in fantasy, sugar coated or not very realistic. Encountering conflict is not in their experience and they usually do not know how to properly deal with opposing viewpoints or people different than themselves. When a liberal, as described here, senses that they are in the wrong or are losing a topic of debate the conversation will conclude with you being called a Racist and/or a Bigot, homophobe or something not even remotely related to the
conversation. Again the topic does not bear weight and it doesn't even have to make sense or be logical.

When attempting to debate with a Gay: 
While pleading for acceptance, all the while flaunting specifically and intentionally what the other person in the debate finds offensive, intentionally pushes buttons to anger those of opposite lifestyles and social beliefs. Demands other to be tolerant of their behavior and choice, but constantly infringes on others beliefs. Usually ending with a variation of "I hope your child/wife gets raped." "I will scratch your eyes out bitch." or "I could slice my wrists, bleed on you and give you A.I.D.S." All the while playing on the fears of those that sit opposite of them.

When attempting to debate with The Average Entitled American: 
Some how Adolf Hitler will get brought up or ignorant name calling will ensue.

Of course this list could go on forever along with including all the various stereotypes and groups that you can think of, but you get the point.

(source of definitions: www.dictionary.com)

For more writings of Chris Chaos visit:
http://allthingsweird88.blogspot.com/

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

THE PARASITE: Young Jimmy

by Chris Chaos

Meet young Jimmy..the social loafer. (SOCIAL LOAFING: The tendency for people to exert less effort when they pool their efforts towards a common goal than when they are individually accountable.)

Young Jimmy just turned 5 years old and is in kindergarten, he also noticed that the teacher graded his class collectively as a group and not on individualistic accomplishments. He soon realized that he could slack off and let the rest of the class do all the hard work and that he could do bare minimal since it did not matter if he worked hard or just sat around, he would be rewarded the same. His thoughts were, "Why should I work hard and wear myself out when I can take a step back and let the rest of my fellow classmates do the work. Besides, either way, I will get the same grade."

There are 15 kids in the classroom all working to complete the assignment. In the name of fairness so that none of he students gets their feelings hurt no one is punished for not contributing and everyone is rewarded for getting the task complete regardless of how much effort one puts forth. Each kid will get a trophy despite if they did all the work, or were simply just a free rider. (FREE RIDERS: People who benefit from the group but give little in return.)

This situational classroom unintentionally welcomed freeloaders due to not looking at individual achievements. Quietly building a slack off mentality that one day would eventually enter the work force and stagnate the world forever. The mindset and society that this backwards thinking is producing a nation that is fast becoming a paradise for parasites.

Under the old regiment only the students that excelled, completed their assignments and achieved actually got rewarded. That caused the students that performed sub-par to resent the brighter and more intelligent students causing a backlash between the students with the various academic skills. So people feeling sorry for the underdog and instead of just encouraging the sub-par students to work harder, started rewarding everyone, from the smartest kid in the classroom all the way down to the kid that refused to participate in the activities.

This in turn diminished achievements, lowered IQ and all students started to slack off since their was no incentive to try or to do what is right. All students leveled out at a lower IQ and made the job easier for the teachers and staff since even they themselves no longer had to try and do their job.

The end result was rewarding everyone, concentrating on the underachievers and ignoring the more brighter students thus dulling results down. A populous that was easy to control and manipulate.

The Satanic Panic

by Chris Chaos

I am currently writing a book on the subject of the panic that occurred back in the 1980's and 90's...the Satanic Panic. For this book I am looking for people that have knowledge of this event and wish to provide an interview (by email) to be included in the book. You can be either a religious figure, a philosopher or just an individual that knows about this occurrence. I am welcoming all sides of the coin to discuss in a responsible and respectable manner the details of what happened.

 The book will cover the major players that accused others or have been accused of violating children in daycares across America and will also give you a basic introduction into what Satanism truly is. Some members of Satanic bands will be featured too.There will be many interviews conducted with individuals on both sides of this heated and debated topic.Also included will be several sections dedicated to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), repressed memory and other mental states that may have been involved in this scandal.

 Also the event of The Satanic Temple trying to add a statue of Baphomet next to the Ten Commandments in Oklahoma under the flag of Separation of Church and State will be detailed in the book.

  Yes There are sinister people out there doing dastardly deeds to one another but there is a vast difference between a devil worshiper and a Satanist.

 If you wish to contribute your opinion, facts or just follow along feel free to contact me and we can get you set up.

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com) 

Adventures of the Parasite: The Hot Oven

by Chris Chaos

The Wife of the Parasite and the Wife of the Man were sitting outside enjoying a drink of lemonade when a serious discussion was started.

The Wife of The Man stated that her oven was hot when she used it. 

The Wife of The Parasite gasped in disbelief! "You cannot say such things!"

The Wife of The Man said "Why not? It is the truth." 

The Wife of The Parasite replied "Truth or not, it just is not appropriate to talk about these things in public."

The Wife of The Man "I am very confused..am I supposed to pretend and ignore the fact that the oven is hot when it obviously is?"

The Wife of the Parasite "I don't care how you do it, just it is not ok to talk about such things in public, what if someone overheard you saying that?"

The Wife of the Man "But everything tells me that it is hot, the steam, the heat on my face and it cooks the food. When I touch it with my hand, it is very hot."

The Wife of the Parasite "Is there no hope for you?"

The Moral for all those that did not catch it? Sometimes people feel better when they hide behind opinions, which are warm rather than facing facts, which are cold.

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com) 

Self-Proclaimed Liberals and Conservatives

by Chris Chaos

Since the dawn of time mankind has labeled, secluded, excluded, separated and divided himself among many stratifications such as race, religion, class, sex, income etc. He does this to feel better about himself, to distinguish himself and to put down others. The various governments of the world do the same to take the attention off of themselves and allow the common folk to battle and quarrel amongst themselves. One of the backbones in the United States that was implemented in the “divide and conquer" scheme was the concept of the two party system, Democrats and Republicans, furthermore, Liberals and Conservatives. Obviously there are dozens of variations to this, but for the purpose of this short exercise we will be speaking strictly of Liberals and Conservatives.

It may seem that many people that feel the need to define themselves as a self-proclaimed "fill in the blank" are usually the worst ones within their selected category. They see it as a calling and a need to go above and beyond to stand apart from the others in their lot and to gain the attention that they so desperately crave.

The seven below points, from each side of the political belief spectrum, were pulled from the most common responses when liberals and conservatives were polled.

In living and experiencing life situations, I have had the dual purpose pleasure and displeasure of dealing with the gauntlet of just about every personality that exists and today we will discuss two of them. They will be comprised of the “Self-Proclaimed Liberal” and the “Self-Proclaimed Conservative”. Obviously, this is not a complete and exhaustive list.

Please do remember, these are the individuals that make it a point to tell you who or what they are, they interject their opinion whether it is wanted or not.

"Self-Proclaimed Liberals"

1. Possess an unrealistic or shallow view of the world, with the belief that the people running the businesses and governments are basically good people but are misunderstood.

2. Illogical when it comes to dealing with people, the world and how it works. Typically of the younger crowd, naïve, fresh out of college and lacking real world experience.

3. Typically they follow the herd and believe what they are told without further research, this population is the one of weekday afternoon television full of Jerry Springer, Court TV, daytime soaps and get rich schemes with little to no work involved.

4. The ones appearing in this category feel the need that they have to change things, the world or help people, whether they want this help or change is beyond their grasp. They take great delight in attempting to change the status quo, to upset culture and tradition in the name of “progress”.

5. The self-proclaimed Liberal is constantly in other people's business, telling them what they should think, believe and how to behave. They will tell you to not be racist, homophobic or whatever the case may be and then turn around and belittle or hate you for not agreeing with whatever the topic may be. They want it their way or no way.

6. Many times Liberals cannot comprehend the concept of “Life is not fair”; setting rules/laws to give an unfair advantage to any special interest group is within their scope to fit their own needs. What is fair to one group may be unfair to another.

7. Although this talking point can go under both categories many Liberals call themselves “people of tolerance”, but they can be some of the most intolerant people on earth. A large number of the COEXIST people that claim to love everyone and everyone is equal are the ones that simply cannot accept people that differ in belief outside of their own. The Theory of Mind escapes them. So for the Liberal view of tolerance it usually falls under hypocrite.

"Self-Proclaimed Conservatives"

1. Many in the self-proclaimed Conservative category are of the older generation and are entrenched with out dated ideals in comparison to the younger generation,

2. A vast majority are also of conspiracy theory mindset. They may be thinking and trying to comprehend the how and the why of why people do the things that they do. Things just never happen for a reason, there always has to be some major joint effort of why something happened. This is in stark comparison to the mid 90’s assentation by the liberals that a “vast right wing conspiracy is taking over the USA”.

3. Many of the people that fall into the self-proclaimed Conservative category are resistant to change of the familiar and stick to what they know, hence why many Liberals consider themselves to be progressive. They usually try to get others to join them in their older ways that they consider tradition because “it is the way that it has always been done”.

4. The vast majority of self-proclaimed conservatives are usually overly religious, Christian Right that is. Many of the people that disagree with what they are saying is because many of their opinions are cloaked in religious belief and thus are considered to not be a part of reality. Many opposers automatically discount what a religious partakers opinions are just based on the differences in religious viewpoint. A fault on the side of the Conservative is that you can’t agree “God’s Will” to a person that doesn’t believe in God.

5. One thing that some liberals have stated as their observation of Conservatives has been dubbed the “Angry Conservative”, which is when they assert that they know things which are beyond the human capacity to know: the truth about God, and the correct deeply personal decisions for other people.

6. Many Self-Proclaimed Conservatives are certain their personal beliefs are correct. They can be so sure about them, there is no need to listen to other points of view. There is no chance they will modify their positions in the future based on greater wisdom.

7. One tactic that Self-Proclaimed Conservatives will use to try to make you side with them is that no matter what they are stating, if you disagree you are un-Christian or un-American. On the flip side if you disagree with what a Self-Proclaimed Liberal you are a racist, a homophobe or a Nazi.

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey.  He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, has a black cat named Jynx, two rats: Hopping Heather and Climbing Carol, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings.)

The Adventures of the Parasite #1

By Chris Chaos

Parasite: an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense.

Here is a fun little story concerning the sad mentality and lack of ambition by America's youth and approaching middle age population. Where are your priorities?

The Parasite had a wonderful night sitting up and arguing his point on many hot topics with the population of the internet, he felt victorious since he outlasted his competition. The Man had to go to bed and leave the conversation since he had to wake up early to go to work. The Parasite has no job so he was able to stay up all night and prove his point.

The Parasite was all gung ho about the pending move to raise the minimum wage despite the fact that he has no job to begin with. All his bills and obligations are covered by his parents as he lives in his parents basement.

In the argument the night before, The Man was talking about educating yourself so that you can secure a good paying job in this down turned economy. The Parasite stated that he has no money to begin with and cannot afford college or secondary schooling. You see, The Parasite is an expert in creating excuses (and self inflicted Learned Helplessness) to explain how he has been wronged and was limited in his choices.

In between arguing with The Man, The Parasite was trying to decide how he was getting to Gamestop so he could purchase the new game coming out in the AM. But he could not decide if he wanted the game for PS4, Wii or the XBox.

The Parasite is in his 30's, lives in his parents basement and plays video games all day. All The Parasites money goes towards purchasing video games and going to the movies. The Parasite always brags that he owned just about all the video games ever released since the the Atari 2600. His greatest accomplishment in life is beating and completing all the games that he plays.

Now if The Parasite would have used that money for higher learning, then maybe he wouldn't be a leech and sponge off of his parents.

You can observe some people and immediately tell they will only gain two certificates during their lifetime...a birth and a death certificate.

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey.  He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, has a black cat named Jynx, two rats: Hopping Heather and Climbing Carol, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings.)