Societal Manipulation of Values
Is it just me or is anyone else bothered by the fact that daily we are having our personal ability to choose between right & wrong, safe & unsafe, rational thought & irrational thought taken away from us by society? In the past 60+ years since the end of WW-2 we, as a nation, have allowed ourselves to be manipulated by the political hacks, the control freaks of our society & by our own apathy.
In the early 1950's Sen. McCarthy rampaged throughout our society under the guise of a Senatorial investigation seeking "Reds" a.k.a. Communists. We were spoon fed the pablum of his sick & biased propaganda supported by such luminaries as the now known pervert, J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI. Later we were spun tales that were promulgated as fact about Viet Nam that resulted in our entering, fighting & eventually abandoning a war there. Closer to home we have allowed ourselves to have our ability to think & choose what is good for us taken away by legislation. Case in point, seatbelt laws & motorcycle helmet laws. These do need to be laws. They should be insurance regulations...no seat belt in use then your insurance policy is null & void! No helmet on while riding then your insurance is null & void.
Remember the dumb old bat who spilled hot coffee in her lap because she was too stupid to take proper precautions? McDonald's got sued for millions & they had to pay to this moronic woman because an equally moronic judge allowed this case to be heard rather than throwing it out as a frivolous case. Our society has become the laughing stock of the world because of such asinine acts. Recently I saw a candy bar wrapper that has the admonishment upon it, " Remove wrapper before eating." Does anyone else see the ludicrous & utterly unintelligent reasoning behind this?
Now we have websites that want us to pry into the lives of our kids under the guise of being good parents. If the kids are raised right, given the right values & taught the difference between right & wrong they do not need nor should they have to suffer the intrusion of adults into what little kid life they have in today's world. The rating system for TV, movies, music, games, etc. is way too much control. I want the ability to decide what I or what my kids or grandkids can see, experience, etc. not some group somewhere who has no idea what me & my family can or cannot handle or deal with. We are beating dead horses here. Too much micro-management of our lives is not good. We see it in the work place all too often where it has become the rule rather than the infrequent occurrence.
Several years ago I was told by a pert, young manager-type that I just did not have the education to understand what she was talking about nor did I have the experience of managing large numbers of employees. (She was not over me but rather a co-manager but she assumed that she ran the enntire department including my sector & very other manager's sector.) I responded with my usual retort..."I have 3 bachelor degrees, 2 master's degrees & 2 PhD's. What is it that you think I cannot understand. I have managed & overseen as many as 3300 people at once in several languages in multiple nations or several continents. So what can be so difficult about dealing with 17 people?" I was working at apart-time job at the time trying to decide if I wanted to fully retire or go back into my field full-time. The individual in question was a new MBA with almost no experience in her level of management much less in dealing with people or getting to know something her subordinates. She was the epitome of a typical micro-manager!
Between insurance companies, employers, government bureaucracies, society in general & our own apathy to make this cease happening has made us a nation of sheep! I am not a sheep! I am thinking person with reasonable intelligence who wants to take control of my entire life not just those parts that the powers-that-be will allow me to control. What about you? Do you really feel as if you need to be coddled, looked out for & micro-managed? I do not!
Copyright © 2007-2009 Donald R Houston, PhD. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the author's consent.
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