“Success operates in active moments and not in idleness.” – Oscar Bimpong
To “take something at face value” means to accept it as true or genuine without questioning it or looking for hidden meanings. It is to believe what is presented at its most apparent level, though it may not be the complete truth. Funny how we take things at “face value” from people who never show their faces.
I don’t know if it’s stupidity as much as we are a people who want to believe something so bad or so wonderful or so tragic or so heartwarming that we go to great lengths to not only make ourselves believe, but go forth on a crusade to make others believe as well.
Those who choose to con and lie to the public with or without malice have had a great ally in technology that was not created for them, but as a parasite they have sucked all the good out of the purpose and have used it for evil.
Artificial intelligence or “AI” which can and will be used to further the productivity of man has attracted some bottom feeders who have come out from under rocks and from within dark crevices to try to further a personal and wicked craving for mischief.
AI was NOT created to alleviate the boredom of the degenerates.
We have seen an influx of this unprofitable activity all over social media. Bears that attack children, birds that carry away the family pet and aliens that come face to face with the unsuspecting farmer in the field. They all start with the serene scenes to suck people in and then end in a flurry of terror.
In 2020 it was spliced film and lies. Now it has resorted to taking notable people speaking unthinkable things as AI has been honed to make things look authentic.
Whenever someone says to me, “Hey, have you heard the latest about so and so?” I always ask first where they heard it, was it from a credible news source. People have generally become lazy and don’t have the time or motivation to VERIFY things.
Did you hear Kevin Costner died today? Did you hear JFK Jr. is still alive? Did you hear Russia nuked Poland? When we find the truth, we get mad at the person who told us, when in actuality, we should be finding the one who generated the lies and expose them.
Perhaps an App to let you know immediately if it is reality or artificial. Artificial Insanity.
And if two people believe it, then it certainly must be true. There is strength in numbers, but unfortunately not always truth. No matter how many people are on that bandwagon.
There is an alarming blast of error that is being publicized in this day and hour. Stories that can make you angry. Tales that can make you believe in happily-ever-after. Injustices that can bring tears to your eyes. From riots incited by candidates in conspiracy theories to miracle working wrinkle cream.
Before you run out and get your gun or run to the window waiting for your fairy godmother, and even before you reach for that next tissue, be sure you check the issue. Some people are manufacturing stories to see if anyone will believe. They are pathological liars that have added technology to their illness. It may be that they simply have too much time on their hands and too much tomfoolery in their hearts.
The trouble with that is, enough people start believing and jumping into the crusade to champion your lie, you may begin to believe it yourself. You’ll start thinking that perhaps it wasn’t a lie after all and that just maybe you were a prophet uncovering the truth to the universe.
Spoiler alert. Much of the internet is full of things that are simply not true. There were candidates in this past election that were paying for writers and videographers to publish lies on the internet to damage their opponents. They continue to do so. Reader beware.
The scenario goes something like this. “A supporter of candidate Lie-burger was found and convicted of dog fighting and cruelty to animals. (Cut to an unrelated video of a dog beaten in an unrelated incident.) When reached for comment, the candidate had none. Click ‘like’ and ‘share’ if you think that it is wrong for candidates to support animal cruelty.”
From that point on, it is hard to erase some lie that got out of hand. You find signs in the protests… “dog killer.” And there are actually people who know better, but perpetuate the lies just because it suits their political or protesting schedule.
And 10 thousand people begin clicking and sharing and swearing as if they had Turrets syndrome. They may in fact have some sort of “click and share” disease – and the main symptom is that they DON’T HAVE A LIFE.
Thank God for people who check with verification services before wildly clicking as if they are having a seizure. Even at that, some of the once-honest verification services have been purchased by those with extra money to burn. Oh, and anyone who thinks the self-proclaimed fact checkers on the internet are reputable, send us an address from the new swampland you recently purchased in Florida.
We have become a people on the edge of the “wild, wild webst.” No rules, no boundaries, no verification – but a lot of carpal tunnel from mouse abuse. Real journalists verify stories. Or at least, they used to. Much of the internet is not a verifiable or reliable news source.
Things are passed from the dark minds of people living in their parent’s basement, covered in food crumbs and hiding behind the anonymity of the veil that has become cyberspace. Daring to go where no man has gone before. To quote a line from the movie ELF, “You sit on a throne of lies.”
And those in the “ratings game” love it because it sells. People want to believe without having to work to verify. For years, we have been a generation led by a news media that has been, for the most part, forthright and held accountable. Until now.
The internet is NOT your nightly news broadcast and to get a good cross section, you have to view more than one source. Like the ones that have been recently caught lying by what they say or what they don’t say. Now we know, as children we loved the innocence of believing everything without having to spend the time and effort on verification. We just threw mud pies because it was fun and there was no accountability for our actions because we were still hiding behind the excuse of our youth.
It’s time to grow up. Put the wet soil down, quit slinging the filth and grow a set of scruples. The truth may not always be fun or exciting or tear-jerking or explosive. Your ordinary life may not “wow” the masses, but your character will.
“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” – Paul.
We are in a dark place and spinning out of control, even in the midst of all that has been created to make things better, easier and labor saving. We are labor-saving ourselves out of the jobs our children and grandchildren would have been perfect for. The jobs that would have given them the satisfaction of accomplishment, learning and self-worth. Bottom line: Labor saving devices of the last century has caused more time on our hands and in our minds. Idleness… never a good thing.
“Busy mouths grow on idle heads.” – Agona Apell