Douglas Rushkoff On Today’s Culture Of Disconnection & The Need To Reevaluate Society’s Values
This isn’t just a crisis, it’s actually an opportunity, this is probably the first moment in the last couple of hundred years that we’ve had, to rebuild our society and our economy on principles that serve humanity, instead of killing life.” We Have Become Disconnected From One Another Douglas Rushkoff, an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, documentarian and graphic novelist, in the short film Life Inc., tells a story about what inspired him to research the American culture of disconnection: I got mugged on Christmas eve, and I went up to my apartment and immediately posted on our local parents list the street I had gotten mugged on and when it happened, and I got two e-mails back within the hour, not from people concerned about me asking ‘Oh are you okay after you got mugged?’ but complaining that I had posted the exact spot where the mugging had taken place, because what I had done might adversely affect their property values. It was enough of a shock that it made me want to look at the different ways we as modern Americans have become disconnected from one another, disconnected from the places we live, disconnected from the value we create, and even disconnected from our own sense of self worth.” We’re Still Playing By The Rules Of The Past People are accepting the ground rules of our society as given circumstances and walking around utterly unaware of the fact that these rules were written by people at a very specific moment in history with a very specific agenda in mind.” Rushkoff tracks it all back to...![Global Interconnection Between People And Nations – A Fact Of Life [TED Talk]](http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/most-important.jpg)
Global Interconnection Between People And Nations – A Fact Of Life [TED Talk]
Today, in our modern world, because of the Internet, everything is connected to everything. We are now interdependent. We are now interlocked as nations, as individuals, in a way which has never been the case before.” – Paddy Ashdown Veteran Diplomat and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Paddy Ashdown describes the period we live in as one of those terrifying periods of history when power changes… And these are always periods accompanied by turbulence, and all too often by blood.” Most notably, Ashdown points out that this global interconnection is a fact of life, but one which can be either a terrifying prospect or a cause for celebration and peace, as it means that we all share a common destiny: Global Interconnection – Danger: If you get Swine Flu in Mexico, it’s a problem for Charles De Gaul Airport 24 hours later. Lehman Brothers goes down – the whole lot collapses. There are fires in the steppes of Russia – food riots in Africa. We are all now deeply, deeply, deeply interconnected. It used to be the case that if my tribe is more powerful than their tribe, I was safe. My country was more powerful than their country, I was safe. My alliance, like NATO, was more powerful than their alliance, I was safe. It is no longer the case.” Global Interconnection – Hope: If it is the case that we are now locked together in a way that has never been quite the same before, then it is also the case that we share a destiny with each other. …The advent of interconnectedness and of the weapons...
What Everybody Ought To Know About Narcissism
Narcissism increased just as fast as obesity over the past 25 years, and a study today shows that it is twice that rate since 2002.” – Psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge, author of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement What Is Narcissism? The main characteristic of narcissism is self-centeredness. Narcissism is an inflated sense of self. It is thinking that you are better than you actually are. It is a complicated trait with lots of different correlates to it, but it does include things like seeking fame, attention, vanity, and so on. However, its main characteristic is its self-centeredness. Narcissism at base is all about trying to get more: more attention, more things, to look more beautiful – it’s always ‘more’ in these rather shallow ways.” What Is The Difference Between Self Esteem And Narcissism? Narcissists do not consider caring for others and relationships as being important. One of the key differences between self esteem and narcissism is that somebody who scores high” (in this psychological examination) “for self esteem but not for narcissism, has a lot of confidence in individual areas but also cares a lot about relationships. Narcissists tend to be missing that piece about caring for others and relationships.” Signs Of Narcissism Overconfidence Being delusion about one’s own greatness Over-optimism Taking too many risks An inflated, unrealistic sense of self Alienation from other people Entitlement, the expectation of having things handed to you without much effort Not caring about others.” Dr. Jean Twenge Talks About The Narcissism Epidemic Causes Of Narcissism Narcissism As An Inborn Personality Trait Narcissism is a personality trait, so it has the same...