Summary: *What am I forgetting to think about, distracted and preoccupied with that damn blockade of financial concerns and anxiety? How many of us ask ourselves this question or… how many others could we ask this question for as they too are bogged down by things which compassionate folks would like to see them not bogged down by...*...And beyond the economic anxiety and poverty there are other things which hijack the mind’s potential or rob a life... the emotions of serious illness, being damned by some kind of “bad luck”-- medical malpractice, just a bad reaction to a medication at the wrong time (such as was the cause of my father’s own untimely death), getting struck by lightning, figuratively or literally...shot by a bigot, victim of a space shuttle explosion or terrorist attack…. Things which haunt me to consider...when I was younger I felt morally obligated to envision tragedies of all kinds befalling me if only to “hold the hands” of the less fortunate in my own way and share the misery with them. But to fixate on this dogmatically is masochistic and raises no one up...brings no wisdom or improvement or real hope to anyone. So I seek understanding for knowledge’s sake...*...I find myself more attracted to “the media” industry now than academia but it is strange. Like a divorce.*...Although the trouble of people feeling they must kiss ass is just a social problem in general, not industry specific. That is one thing believe it or not I refuse to do. I find it degrading. I find ass-kissing and being told what to say or think without any invitation for discussion to be utterly degrading. *...All of this can be VERY expensive business, I realize. You know...independent media...starting up your own business, living on your own terms, making art, saying what you really think (some people experience hurt feelings very easily. I feel bad about it but it’s also not fair for their hurt feelings to get priority over honesty. I believe the right course of action is thus diplomacy, which I give my all to as a writer and activist though I sometimes fail. I remember when I applied for a political organization and asked questions about their policy positions. I didn’t mean to poke holes in their lifework or disrespect their souls but if they will not be open to discussion then they too are poking holes...to some degree it actually is a “dog eat dog” world.*....how many people do you know who are or seem or say they are tired or busy? I haven’t taken a tally but I have heard people describe themselves as tired and /or busy almost, I think, as often I’ve heard people ask the question “how are you?” which, if not followed by “tired” or “busy” is followed by that word “good” which...maybe you are a little suspicious of or maybe you know full well you are telling a so called “white lie” as to not tell the story of all that’s frustrating you. (In fact, this is all so common place that it is brought up in friendlier conversation often itself!)*... About these somewhat and “sort of” seemingly chaotic thoughts (to borrow Dylan’s description “sort of” once more! And perhaps not for the last time!)…the sense of chaos and confusion is not…so far as I can tell…fundamentally epistemological. (Epistemology tends towards the cut and dry for me: if you’re acquainted with me you know my mantra of objectivity, empiricism, non-contradiction, law of identity, pragmatic clarification…) Rather, it’s a struggle to accept a degree of imperfection...*...What exactly is the definition of media? And why (emphasis here on the WHY) can I be confident that this definition, more so than all others, is THE definition? Can that which we call “art,” just to give you an example of what happens in my mind as I contemplate definitions, count as part of that broader notion of “media?”FOR MORE FROM PUBLIC COMMENT, VISIT https://publiccommentpodcast.com/
