As we started the class we realized that you knew you wouldnt be in class today, crafty Professor Dean, crafty. After the initial uproar of the first few minutes, we were able to sit down and get started on the task at hand, blogging and discussing chapters 6 and 7 of iSpy. These chapters focused on the war on terror (iWar) and politics (iPolitics). Tim and Brian had to floor for the first initial stages of our discussion and Tim brought up the point of gated communities and how they can make us feel safe, but at what cost? Gated communities give people safety and seemingly carefree living, but we sacrifice privacy. Subsitiuting fear, with preperation.
The war on terror is the first internet war, a war that can't be covered all in the two standard print mediums, the information has taken to the internet to be spread. The government has essentially tricked us into giving away our information on the false pretenses that we would some how be safer. But we sacrifice our privacy, giving up one of our keep fundamental rights. Brian also was able to explain how Andrejevic feels about killing Osama Bin Laden. Brian was able to explain that by killing Osama that it would solve absolutley nothing. It isnt a simple "top down" network of terrorists, but a intertwinded network of many different terrorists who all have the same hatred of western ideals and influence.
Chapter 7 of iSpy focuses on how polititicans target us as voters to influence the way we vote. Their policies never change, as they say they will, they just change the way that their messages target us. They can manipulate their campiagns to cater to the views and feelings of the voters. They say one thing to appease the masses and obtain voters, while never actually doing anything to solve or change their own beliefs.
I dont know how much I like this system of blogging and discussing at the same time. It makes it difficult to hear the ideas of everyone else and put them into one coherent thought process.
But I ask a couple of questions in regards to the reading. First off, how does the police of our information and insecureites help fight terrorism? Why can't the government be open with us? ( A time old question I know) And how can we stop politicans from preying on and twisting the ideas of the American public for a personal, political gain.
How to stop the politicians from twisting our ideas for personal gain? Communist revolution. Or maybe not voting for them. Or maybe mocking them all the time and not voting them and then setting up an alternative system.
ReplyDeleteInsecurities and terrorism--from the government perspective (particularly but not exclusively the Bush administration), if the people are compliant, the government can take more power and then operate outside the limits of law. Some politicians (Cheney) think that this kind of authority is necessary for securing the US and protecting US interests; basically they think that protections of rights and limits on governments disable power (similar problems appear in the history of democratic empires going back to the ancient Greeks).