I just saw a post on FB that said wishing people "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" isn't about being politically correct, it's about respect (because there are way more holidays than just Christmas).

Yeah...but...wait...that's what "politically correct" has always meant. It's always been about respect and sensitivity.

We're still playing this game?!

It's dangerous to assume that anyone else's politics aren't principled. We need to examine what the principles are to be sure that we're making robust decisions, minimising unintended consequences.

It's also crucial for us each to recognise that we're susceptible to social pressure to align with some ideas in our in-group which don't perfectly fit our principles.

#Politics are big and complicated by design, and intention. We can't afford to oversimplify this; we've seen where that takes us.

I've started to see expressions like: "This isn't political. It's principle." This is naïve.

There are various levels at play. I'll name 3:
-Personal
-Principle
-Political

Personal includes the things we feel because they affect us directly.

Principle are the things we feel because they interact with a bigger-picture need or conviction we share with those affected personally.

Politics is how we enact our principles in public, from speech all the way up to laws and consequences.

#politics

Have you been a part of a thing that was stuck simply because no-one knew how to take initiative effectively?

Perhaps more importantly, have you ever been a part of a thing that solved this particular problem?

How?

Humans built these massive, global social-media networks where people can connect with each other to express and satisfy their boundless curiosity.

Wouldn't it be nice if it was actually being used that way?

In the discipline of communication we've long recognised the more-or-less invisible power of the gatekeeper.

It is this recognition that gave rise to the pushback against the "elites" who are controlling elements in our lives.

However, a shift has happened. The gatekeepers are now digital algorithms which are fed intentions that serve corporate interests, not human/social ones.

Social media companies are increasingly anti-social. Too many folks have simply accepted this as the new normal.

The situation is grave. There are huge challenges, but also some proposed solutions in this episode.

We need to process as societies what we're going to do about the personhood and legality of AI, and figure out market solutions too, perhaps even faster.

Thank you CoSo for being an example and a leader in this!

"...the politics of hate is the most effective way to get people to follow."

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/harvard-professor-lawrence-lessig-on-why-ai-and/id1011668648

"Thinking as a planet is what climate change is forcing us to do -- thinking as a civilisation -- rather than just a society or a nation...

People in this century get to live in a century where humanity discovers itself as the keepers of life now, on a whole planet."

-- Stewart Brand

Have you ever noticed that anything with "United" in its name is in perpetual danger of ripping apart at the seams?

It's like the word itself is protesting too much.

We need broad-based solidarity to solve the global crises we're facing, and we can't even get it right on our small scales.

#religion
#Christianity

It turns out that anyone can say anything about God.

What God wants, What God doesn't want.

What God likes. What God doesn't like.

Who God likes. Who God doesn't like.

And God doesn't show up to endorse or refute any of it. None.

So then we're left to discern. 1st priority: what is said about God just to make the speaker's life easier? Especially, what gives them more power, and/or less accountability?

A lot of what is said on God's behalf is simply self-serving.

“Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” -- Brianna Wiest

I watched Top Gun Maverick last night. It's an entertaining flick, which hits all the nostalgia notes, and all that.

But I'm just not sure that the repeated refrain "Don't think. Just do." is a motto the US military should be comfortable with.

If this is feeding and being fed by the popular opinion of a voting public, y'know, that's worth being concerned about.

I'm currently reading Brianna Wiest's 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think.

There is a lot of worthwhile information in here. I'm starting to think about how this works organisationally.

Like, one of her points is that we don't change because we value something (eg comfort) more than we desire change.

An organisation has a character/culture, and it works similarly -- an aggregate of the individual, esp in vague, aimless wanting: comparison, fear, comfort, stagnation.

#selfawareness

Two sides of the same coin:

Don't use hyperbole if you want to initiate good conversation.

Don't fall for hyperbole if you want to be a part of good conversations.

This is my favourite song of the moment -- Easy by Laville:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaaNhpyFCnc

It's remarkable to me how consistently conservatives' attempts to refute accusations of prejudice, antagonism and spite end up instead providing further evidence of their accuracy.

Is there an English word which describes someone becoming more like what they're being accused of, even in the denial of the accusation?

#politics
#religion