POINT OF REFERENCE

     I feel a bit saddened when I see and hear what is going on in our supposed new and improved world with technology at the forefront.  Alexa, can you explain the cost of becoming enslaved to this technology in human terms?
     Today's social media boom may well be on the way of going bust.   This current culture makes the 'ME' decade of the 1980s seem like a trip to Chernobyl with Mother Theresa to help victims of radiation posioning.
     The current society has become so indoctrinated with looking inward that babies are surely born with this 'gift' as a built-in feature.  There are exceptions, of course, but how many people are helping victims of natural disasters partly because they think there is a good chance of getting a 'sick' selfie?
     Academics use 'point of reference' as a way of discussing and evaluating theories that are different than the ones that we normally use.  It is supposed to make people understand that there is more to life than what is currently seen in our limited range of visibility.  The very concept of this theory may be foreign and perhaps useless to people of modern life who reject everything that has come before them as a false way of feeling 'liberated' from the mistakes of the past.
     Is reasoning and using methods of deduction to uncover the severity of any given situation somehow invalid in this world where public opinion takes the place of actual justice?  Has the kangaroo court finally replaced the one we used to consider 'Supreme'?
    All facets of modern society certainly seem easier.  But does that really make them more credible?

"When the truth offends we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there, but it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid."

COLOR ME IMPRESSED.

       I was looking through some old college yearbooks a few days ago and I uncovered some very interesting achievements.  No, I'm not referring to grades or degrees or any of that paltry stuff.  I'm talking about 'goings on' in and around the Magic City. We have two colleges here but are most definitely not thought of as a college town.  Back in the day (1970-71 , to be exact),  I guess some things could actually considered BETTER.  Things that would actually excite ME if I had actually been alive to witness it.
     The first achievement was to somehow convince a group of talented musicians from Britain called Badfinger to play at one of the colleges' theaters; Petro Hall which holds upwards of 500 people.  These dudes were tight with Beatles, man!  They also wrote what I consider to be just about the best power pop song in the world called 'No Matter What.'  For you younger folks they also wrote the song "Baby Blue" that was featured in the last episode of "Breaking Bad."  They also had some of the worst luck of any band and two members would later commit suicide after many failed comeback attempts.
     The second achievement was getting Mort Sahl to come here for one of his 'commentaries.'  He was one of the most famous political comedians in the country.  But unlike Lenny Bruce, he didn't have a drug habit or try to shock the audience to get a point across. Sitting in on one of these mostly freeform discussions where the audience was allowed to ask questions and express their views must have been amazing.  And to think, it was all done in a civilized manner.  How DID they do it?  Again, for you younger folks, Mort Sahl would most likely be the precursor to someone like Jon Stewart or John Oliver.
    The third and final achievement was to get the one of the leaders of the burgeoning Women's Movement, Gloria Steinem to speak here.  I'm not going to try to even imagine how this all went down but it must have been something special.  As a male, I would probably be afraid of going to an event like this one out of fear of being tarred and feathered or some such thing even though I consider myself to be whatever the exact opposite of whatever a male chauvinist pig would be called.
     I went to college at the same place in the early 1990s.  By then, there was very little campus entertainment beyond a few plays or dances.  And this was BEFORE the internet!  The city had changed.  I believe it had become much more conservative.  I even had a boss at one of my first jobs tell me "this town cares little about culture....unless it's agriculture."  Today the town is changing again.  Will it be for the better?  Will I even be around to experience it?  And will anyone ever be impressed again?