TOD: I agree with most people about cell phone use and would it extend it to any electronic connectedness. People just can't seem to disconnect for any minimal amount of time. Just because the phone rings, you don't have to answer it. If you're having a conversation with someone, you don't need to be scrolling down your emails every thirty seconds. If you're going to a play or movie, turn off your damn cell phone i-pad, whatever, before you ever enter the theatre. People are so afraid that they are going to miss something, that they are usually missing the full experience of whatever they are doing at the moment. Multi-tasking is no way to go through life and it's just attention-deficit rudeness. Try and give something or someone your undivided attention and connect to the real moments of life rather than the second-hand experiences of a device.
The other thing that pisses me off is what I call the Arrogance of Ignorance. People who know nothing and are proud of it. Their assessment of politics is reduced to some sound-bite they hear that merely re-inforces the unresearched, unthought-out opinion they already hold, their review of a movie is reduced to the "cool shot" or what they heard some friend say about it. Whatever the subject, they cannot articulate their thoughts in a logical, detailed manner and must resort to cliches and dogma or, worse, anger directed at a person who challenges their mentally-bereft beliefs or lack of knowledge.
The rise of ignorance in our society in general appalls me. I value knowledge, intellect, and intelligence above all. The fact that we are now re-fighting something like the battle of evolution which I thought was over with the Scopes Trial back in 1925...almost 100 years ago...is frightening. Does this kind of thing represent the progression of human knowledge in the last 100 years...or does it represent the regression of human knowledge? The refusal to accept proven and acknowledged facts....be they science, social, or political...pretty much infuriates me. And to dismiss it with the canard that "Everybody is entitled to their opinion" infuriates me even more. As my pal Harlan Ellison says, "You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your INFORMED opinion."
