Last month the trailer for the new Mr. Rogers movie (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) dropped with Tom Hanks starring as Fred Rogers. Over the past decade, including September 11, 2001, there has been any number of times when national tragedies in the United States prompted people to bring up Mr. Rogers’ famous quote about ‘helpers’ either in quote form or meme. As Fred Rogers put it: "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'
A little over a year ago, I was involved in a serious accident which left me with over thirty broken bones and needing to learn how to walk again. During the initial phase of my recovery, helpers from all over came out in quantity. From my family and daughter to neighbors and friends, I was assisted and supported. One friend started a GoFundMe to help me cover the massive medical expenses and that prompted some complete strangers to donate to my recovery. On the street where I live, neighbors pooled together and created a calendar for meals…and over the course of the next couple of months they brought me and my family entire dinners complete with desserts!
Helpers do not stop to ask a person what church they go to, what political party they are affiliated with or what their views are on immigration and taxes. Helpers are the embodiment of the biblical Good Samaritan story that is at the heart of the Catholic faith. Agape, love for our fellow human beings, is what I learned in church growing up. Direct contact with other human beings is what engenders Agape.
We live in a burgeoning technological world and one of the tools that was heralded as a breakthrough for the inter-connectivity of mankind has developed into a divisive and poisoned tool that is helping to tear away at the very fabric of our shared Agape. Social media, when it was first introduced, was positioned as a way to ‘bring people together’ like never before. In the very early days, it seemed to accomplish some of that high-minded altruism. However, since the corporatization of data became the main focus of the social media companies, social media itself has become a highly divisive and toxic environment based on anti-intellectualism and ‘memetics.’
Memetics is the science of memes and how meme-thinking has permeated our culture. This is not new. In his book, “Virus Of The Mind,” author Richard Brodie dives deeply into the disturbing ethics of memetics and shows how it has been in our culture for literally hundreds of years. A ‘meme’ can be something that is highly beneficial to culture and society as well as highly destructive. For the most part, in today’s ‘online’ world, memetic thinking has taken on a very dark and destructive form, fueled by big media and one hundred percent intentional. Memetics is NOT information, it is a cultural creation for group think. Memetics could be used for something positive such as, “How can we create a more sustainable environment,” as well destructively such as, “Kill all the Jews.”
It is no secret that the past 10-15 years has seen a tremendous shift in global politics. Until the end of the last century, global GDP growth averaged 4% in the developed world. Western (Liberal) Democracy had ruled since the end of WWII and most emerging countries and economies looked to model themselves after the West. The United States always stood as the global superpower, the shining city on the hill, the beacon that emerging democracies looked to for inspiration, direction and hope. Since the beginning of this century, global GDP has averaged only around 2%, and there has been a rise in authoritarian regimes throughout the world. There has been a concerted effort by Russia and other countries to damage and undermine Western Democracy in favor of isolationist regimes.
The last time humanity went through this type of psychological shift was in the 1920s and 1930s and, as is happening now, fascism and the promise of ‘omnicompetent’ charismatic leaders emerged. The heavy use of memetics during that time took entire countries and all of civilization into a dark place. State control of media and the heavy use of memetics creates a diabolical group think. The word diabolic literally means to ‘divide and abolish.’ Fascism is a formula that starts with dividing a country, dividing a people, so that the fractions can be used against each other. Once the fractions are small enough, the sliver that is remaining with power can control the game.
The United States no longer has a democracy. Forty years ago, politicians were elected, went to Washington and did the work of their constituents because we were the ones that funded their campaigns and voted for them. Politicians could and would solve problems by putting aside the theater of politics in favor of martini lunches or a night out for dinner, all in an effort to serve the democracy, e.g., their donors. Our government today is an oligarchy, more precisely a plutocracy, run by corporations who have unlimited power over the former democracy. Our elected officials no longer represent the people of the country, they represent their corporate overlords who wield fantastic power. Author John Chalekson put it this way: “Monied interests buy politicians like toothpaste. They write business friendly legislation, getting Congress to pass it in return for generous campaign contributions and other special favors.” Following the near-criminal passing of the ironically titled “Citizen’s United,” the plutocracy has ballooned into a Dark Money cesspool of corruption and favors.
It would seem obvious that a plutocracy is the exact opposite of a democracy, a government run by the people and for the people. But, the media works overtime to keep their corporate interests at heart. Where else can you bamboozle people into thinking $30 a year of taxes to fund school lunches for underprivileged children is a ‘handout,’ but $1,000 a year to keep corporations in power is acceptable? The US plutocracy did not happen by accident, and social media has been weaponized to protect the plutocracy. There are no longer martini lunches. Social media has been used to foster anti-intellectualism and discord and eventually, memes…memetic thinking. Think about it. School lunches are bad, they are ‘socialism.’ A corporation not paying taxes is good, it’s ‘capitalism.’ Invariably, there is no environment in real life where the skills displayed on social media would be healthy or realistic. If all discourse is met with the old Dan Akroyd line on SNL of “Jane, you ignorant slut.” then the possibility of actually solving problems is eradicated. After all, would this work in your personal relationships, your marriage? Would this be effective in your office environment?
It is the job of the media to keep the public warring on their respective ‘sides’ in order to keep the plutocracy alive. It doesn’t matter if it is Fox News or MSNBC, left or right, progressive or conservative. They both serve the exact same purpose…to foster division and protect the ruling class (of which they are a part). As a result, the GINI coefficient (wealth disparity in the Unites States) has risen to the highest levels since 1929. Indeed, the labor share of income in the United States has plunged precipitously since the start of this century. The ratio of pay for the average worker to a CEO has mushroomed to between 250% to 350% since the plutocracy took hold of the US government. Real wages in the USA have risen by a few scant percentage points with CEO wages up by some 500%.
There is a theory regarding ‘perceived loss’ that helps keep entrenched political beliefs from allowing individuals to break free and create meaningful solutions. Basically, the idea is that, once ‘invested’ in a belief, it becomes hard, if not impossible, to leave that belief for something different. Let’s say you bought an appliance but you rarely if ever use this appliance. You paid $200 for the appliance and now it sits on your kitchen counter. It never gets used, but you still need to wipe it off every week or move it to get into a cupboard. Now you are faced with a decision; sell the appliance for fifty cents on the dollar, or donate it to a thrift store? There is a perceived loss. You have invested in this appliance, but it does not serve your needs. Most sane people would see the logic in cutting their losses and making their lives easier. Politics does not work like this. Entrenched views become like hair or eye color. Letting go is never easy.
We are faced with an existential dilemma now in the United States. We are no longer in control of our own democracy. The people who are in control have overtaken the government and written the rules for themselves, leaving the rest of us to tear at each other for their amusement and profit. They feed a non-stop cacophony of divisive rhetoric and anti-intellectualism in order to protect their power. Western democracy is dead and plutocratic democracy has replaced it.
Can we, as a country, flex enough political muscle to fight to reclaim our democracy…the democracy that was espoused in the founding of this nation? Will we be able to take back our government and make it one that serves all people as equals? This requires an eye-opening personal revelation and the ability to accept the loss that our current government has not only failed us but, has devalued us to the point of near extinction. As long as we are here, we must fight plutocracy and fascism and do everything in our power to take our government back from the people that monetized it for their benefit.
Social media could be used as a tool against the corporate-owned media interests. The new meme can be one of us owning our own government, together. One thing is for certain, it will take a new consciousness for how social media is used. It might mean a few more lunches or dinners together. It will require great listening skills and deep compassion for a shared interest. If we continue to fractionalize, they win. Look for the helpers.