Not so very, very long ago—only about 150 years or so—daily life included “no”: electrical power, refrigerators, air conditioners, Internet, computers, smartphones, TV, antibiotics, 911 emergency services, superhighways, automobiles, airplanes, GPS, Walmart, fast food services, U.S. Social Security Program, anxiety-counselor staffed “Safe Spaces” in colleges/universities, etc., and no Facebook, Twitter, or other of today’s social media platforms. Still, our ancestors survived and got things done—or else we wouldn’t be here to face the “survival challenges” of today.
And while the past and present (and no doubt future) entail an array of both old and new “challenges”—the basic “Rules for Survival” remain the same. That is, we and other life forms must be willing and able to: (1.) “recognize” that which threatens our survival; (2.) “have” effective defenses against such threats; and (3.) “execute” effective responses against any and all such threats.
It has been long stressed, and likely still widely-accepted by many, that “survival” is (if not “the”) at least high among our most powerful drives. An extremely strong self-preserving behavior that we so-called superior humans, along with other life forms, appear to be naturally hard-wired with. Views seemingly withstanding the test of time—that is, until “along came the Internet”!
Yes, now enabled more and more by the Internet, our ancient-rooted universal “urge to belong” seems to be the ever-growing “defining need” of our times—often detracting much needed attention away from the aforementioned basic “Rules for Survival.” Of course such thought can appear to be consumed with absurdity. That is, until one considers that, for example, Facebook alone already harvests and sells the attention of at least 1.4 billion of us every day (so far about a fifth of the world’s population)!
This expression of recognized unsolicited opinion is not shared in ignorance of the fact that we humans are social animals. For, “attention”—our ancient-rooted “craving to belong”—is indisputably among the most valuable contributors to our existence. Since “attention” is basically other people thinking about us, and we about others, if once there were humans that lacked this survival-based need—they likely soon became extinct.
Rather, this is to hopefully constructively re-enforce that the “rules fo survival” do not apply to “life” alone. For, it is also to the peril of the liberty and freedom of present and future generations of Americans, if we let the “look at me” feeding frenzy afforded by today’s social media technology self-destructively detract us. And in so doing, that we fail to responsibly “recognize” and “defend against” the ever-growing threats to not only our inalienable (God-given) rights to life—but also those of liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Very real, present, and unrelenting threats, such as (to cite but a few of a growing many): (1.) A Dysfunctional U.S. Congress; (2.) Open (unsecured) U.S. borders; (3.) Lack of merit-based immigration laws; (4.) Out-of-control U.S. National Debt; (5.) Politically-biased activists posing as so-called news media; (6.) Politically-biased “deep state” embedded throughout various aspects of U.S. government; (7.) Radically-liberal biased educational institutions; (8.) Failure to officially declare and support English as “the” U.S. common-language; (9.) Failure to protect and preserve U.S. common-culture founded on Judeo-Christian values; (10.) Failure to protect and preserve our U.S. Constitution; (11.) Failure to purge any and all traces of Sharia law from within our U.S. borders; (12.) Politically-biased algorithms used by various Internet-based Social Media platforms; and, (13.) Failure of countless “legal” U.S. citizens to do their sincere best to routinely be informed, active, and otherwise responsible voters in all elections.
Many if not most of us may often have limited control over what happens to us. However, those of us yet blessed with liberty and freedom still have a crucial measure of control over how we respond. None the least, by way of our votes, the products we purchase, the activities we support, our social media posts, and the corporate ratings we contribute to by way of the TV and radio stations we tune to, etc.
—William James Moore
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“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” —Helen Keller (1880-1968), American author, political activist and lecturer, and first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
“To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last—but eat you he will.” —Ronald Reagan (1911-2004), 40th President of the United States.
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” —Eliezer Wiesel (1928-2016), Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor, and author of 57 books, including one titled “Night,” a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps).
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” —Eliezer Wiesel (1928-2016),
“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” —Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)