Too Much Reality?

Too Much Reality? Perhaps. This post is in response to this question posed by Jay Rosen, courtesy of an Instapundit link.

The Question:

Too Much Reality: Is There Such a Thing? Yesterday I was interviewed by a reporter from BBC television about everything happening in politics and the media these days, the closing days of the 2004 campaign. I had to apologize several times for being so inarticulate, letting my sentences run on and on without coming to a clear point-- despite his polite request for short answers....

...

What I really wanted to say to the BBC guy was: There's too much reality rushing over us every day just now. And it's pushing me to the limits of my own vocabulary.

Can anyone help? Do you even know what I'm talking about? Hit the comment button and tell us: what connects the items on my list?

My response:

We are experiencing a perfect storm based upon four colliding fronts: technological, cultural, biological and political.

Technological advancement is demanding a shift in our culture as to how we access, manage, evaluate and distribute information. That has been occurring everywhere, particularly in the business world for the last several years - it is nothing new, nor unique to this election season.

The current politics, being what they are - significant and polarizing, are magnifying the issue for parties who have not yet had to confront this evolution in our world. And, important point, it is not a "revolution" as many characterize it, but merely an advancement within a society that has been experiencing such advancement since we first started scratching out images on cave walls.

In short, all of our "rolls" are shaking out and the anxiety realized any time that happens on a broad scale within a culture makes it all seem, at times, a bit overwhelming. It needn't be.

The technology will stay and continue to advance; individuals and institutions will struggle and eventually redefine themselves sufficiently within the contemporary landscape; the current magnification being experienced as result of a hotly contested and immediate political reality will subside; and our biology will adjust, just as it has to reading, building, driving, flying, etc. Note, when first confronting the written word society experienced great panic with persecution as the result of threats to established institutions from individuals changing within the broader culture.

Relax, nothing is really changing all that much - we just "think" it is. Get over it. The vast majority of our population do not even realize, or think about this - and they don't need to. It is process - and when you attempt to take process apart to the Nth degree from within, you cultivate a sense that you are losing your footing because you are taking apart the very thing within which you currently exist. It can't be done, at least not well, and that's why we have a wonderful thing called "history" to do it for us.

Our Grandchildren may well love reading about it, but, alas, for us, we are all but small players in the currently evolving grand scheme and we'd likely fair better if we learn to simply enjoy the ride, as opposed to trying to extract every penny's worth of value from the wonderful free ticket we've been given for having been born here and now. Take the dog to the park and spend some quality time with the kids - you'll be the better for it. And the "revolution" will be here when you get back, if you're still so inclined as to want to write about it.

Comments

[donna]

So... we should just chill, eh? I think you have a handle on the long-range big picture, but I think we're both 'getting our hands dirty' in this "revolution"!

I'm enjoying the heck out of it, too.