our relationship with reality
23 february 2007 :: john
People love a good story. Something that takes them out of their own head for awhile. Makes them laugh, gets them excited or inspired. Makes them even feel heroic and courageous in themselves.
All from the comfort of the chair they're sitting on.
People also tend not to love bad news or negative things or anything that's going to harsh their buzz, at least not in their everyday reality. People like their reality to be pleasant, positive, to be affirming and validating, and to present no bumps or unsmoothness of any kind whatever.
Now, since people love fiction of all kinds, but tolerate only pleasant realities, they're pretty open to substituting out actual reality for something more pleasant, more interesting...less...real.
The modern computerized, electronicized culture is perfect for this sort of thing.
Almost everybody can plug into it. Those with more money and education can plug in more and dive more completely into this alternate reality, and this adds some validity to the whole thing.
After all, if educated people with money do it, it's gotta be a good thing, right?
Draw your own conclusions.
A mass UNplugging might be a positive direction.
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