November 26, 2003
Introspection. Are we losing it?
Miranda Devine for smh.com writes a thoughtful article on introspection or more accurately, the lack-therof - "bombarded as we are by noise and information 24/7, swept from event to event in a switched-on digital clatter of mobile phones, SMSs, games, interactivity, 24-hour global news, TV, radio - you name it.
And Devine worries that, "without introspection we lose much of what makes us human, because we need to know ourselves in order to develop a conscience, a moral compass, a sense of right and wrong. Without the humility that comes from knowledge of yourself and your own failings, everyone else's behaviour will seem intolerable.
Lack of introspection leads people to take on hatreds and dimly understood positions without thinking through what they mean, only that perhaps: "War is bad", "Bush is stupid". It leads to the ascendance of meaningless street politics in which hordes of what Lenin called "useful idiots" protest against McDonald's or globalisation or war" and Devine conveys Iranian author Amir Taheri thoughts on the frenzied anti-Bush demonstrations in London last week.
"What else could it be that makes so many such easy prey for propagandists preaching moral equivalence, but a loss of the collective conscience".
Something to stop and think about.
Related thoughts on losing introspection by journalist Steve Chapman.
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