President Obama Calls The World A Messy Place & Blames Social Media for Making People Take Notice 2,761 Shares By Kevin Boyd 1 hour ago
President Obama recently stated at a fundraiser that social media and the nightly news are making the world look like it is “falling apart.” As reported by The Hill: “The world’s always been messy … we’re just noticing now in part because of social media. If you watch the nightly news, it feels like the world is falling apart.”
The president made the remarks at a fundraiser tonight in Purchase, New York for the DNC. Mark Knoller from CBS News was there to relay the remarks via Twitter.
One of the benefits of the information age is that news and information have been broken down into a way that makes it more friendly to social media.
Social media is not causing the following national and international issues, it is merely reporting on them: Workforce participation rates at a 36-year-low along with rising national debt obligations now at $17.7 trillion, primarily due to social programs.
Russia’s ongoing “incursion” into the Ukraine, which is a de facto invasion of a sovereign country on the edge of Europe. ISIS (or ISIL/IS) terrorists taking over the state of Iraq after the United States withdrew from the territory.
This is not the first time that President Obama has blamed the media for frustrating his political agenda. For some context, the president is currently struggling with a low approval rating in the 40s and bad optics of late because of his perceived lack of leadership confronting ISIS.
The president has variously blamed Fox News and conservative talk radio for misleading the American people and creating an unfair “caricature” of him. Obama has also blamed Bush for the stagnant economy as well as his withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
On numerous occasions, the president has blamed the House Republicans for failing to move legislation through the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House.
President Obama’s solution has been to use his ‘pen and phone’ to bypass or even override the American people’s representatives in Congress by legislating from the executive branch.
Given that the president’s hallmark pieces of legislation – from so-called “Obamacare” to the exorbitant “stimulus” package – failed to produce the results that were promised, it is an unacceptable premise that Americans should jettison representative government.
The challenges of the presidency are both of enormous magnitude and entirely predictable. Those elected to become the leader of the free world must have extensive experience and must be fully prepared to deal with a world that is “messy.”
President Obama’s blaming of other politicians or the media for this state of affairs just further confirms what many Americans have suspected all along: he may simply not be up to the job. It is not the fault of social media that it is doing what other major news media have often failed to do and that is tell the American people the straight truth.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Blaming social media...really? Irresponsible out of context reporting is what this is:
Quoted Text
“In part, we’re just noticing now because of social media and our capacity to see in intimate detail the hardships that people are going through,”
Sounds to me like he is saying that in today's world people are able to see so much more than they could previously, because of social media, etc. How is that BLAME???
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
I think the social media has changed everything....some in a good way, some in a bad, some true and some pure rhetoric. But in either case information is just a click away today. ALL INFORMATION!! And it is connects not just Americans to each other, but the entire world!! I don't think it's 'blame'....it just is what it is today!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I think the social media has changed everything....some in a good way, some in a bad, some true and some pure rhetoric. But in either case information is just a click away today. ALL INFORMATION!! And it is connects not just Americans to each other, but the entire world!! I don't think it's 'blame'....it just is what it is today!
Exactly...but the author of the article clearly tries to use it as a tool against Obama by calling it BLAME. This is how the media distorts facts to sell their stories. Would you have read it if he stated that Obama identifies social media as a new awareness tool that is keeping more citizens informed as never before....probably not, and the article probably wouldn't have gotten published.
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
you can't be a politician and toss things out saying media is to blame because then the politician is essentially calling the populace stupid.
people have so much info now that they have bigger pictures of what is going on around the world and outside their 'little sim worlds'.....
whether or not they care to investigate further remains to be seen
is all the info good info......let's see, I don't think it could be any worse than 1/2 truths given by the politicians over the last 2 generations or the 'don't tell them about it' over the last 2 generations....but the biggest political faux pas:
"WE WON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN IT UNTIL WE VOTE IT IN" (that says a lot about our leaders/legislators/planners)
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
you can't be a politician and toss things out saying media is to blame because then the politician is essentially calling the populace stupid.
NOT WHAT WAS SAID....read the posting. It was the author's DISTORTION of what was said. If media doesn't have sensationalism, mystery or shock, they wouldn't exist. News would be just that, news, and boring!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
NOT WHAT WAS SAID....read the posting. It was the author's DISTORTION of what was said. If media doesn't have sensationalism, mystery or shock, they wouldn't exist. News would be just that, news, and boring!
he shouldn't have said ANYTHING....nothing, nada, zilch.......it would have saved some internet space
politicians shouldn't give 'public lessons' until they are out of whatever office they are in.......especially in today's world of fast reporting, recording and sharing.....
the emperor has lost a layer of clothing....hahahahahahahaha
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
he shouldn't have said ANYTHING....nothing, nada, zilch.......it would have saved some internet space
politicians shouldn't give 'public lessons' until they are out of whatever office they are in.......especially in today's world of fast reporting, recording and sharing.....
the emperor has lost a layer of clothing....hahahahahahahaha
He was quoted by that author from a speech he was giving at a fund raiser......DUH!!!
"...lost layer of clothing..." what the hell does that mean?
Where do you come up with this gibberish?
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Two weavers are approached by a vain, pompous Emperor who desires the finest and most luxurious clothes in all the land for himself - clothes befitting of his supreme status. The two weavers promise him just such a set of clothes, so fine and wonderful that they will be only for the eyes of the greatest and the best in society; indeed, they will be quite invisible to anyone who is stupid, incompetent or unworthy of their position in society. What's more, the clothes will be made of a material so fine ('as light as a spider web') that they will not weigh down the wearer, so fine, the wearer will not even be able to sense them draped over his body. Such a set of clothes would be perfect for a great Emperor. They would suit his sense of his own importance, and their magical properties would enable him to find out which of his ministers were unfit for their jobs ('and I could tell the wise men from the fools').
Of course, the weavers are nothing more than a pair of con-men - swindlers who have no intention of creating a fine set of clothes. They have heard of the Emperor's vanity and they believe they can turn his failings to their own advantage. So they decide to go to the pretence of making this set of fine clothes. Of course when the Emperor goes to visit the weavers at their work and they make a show of enthusing over the cloth and the clothes they are making, he cannot see anything at all. But he is too proud and arrogant to admit that he cannot see the clothes. To do so, he feels, would be to label himself as stupid and unfit to be Emperor. And of course when his courtiers and ministers visit the weavers, they also cannot see the clothes, but they too pretend that they can - because if they say anything different, they will be admitting their own incompetence and unworthiness. ('Can it be that I'm a fool? It would never do to let on that I can't see the cloth'). And if any of them did have their suspicions, well to voice their doubts about the existence of the clothes would be to imply that the Emperor himself was stupid enough and gullible enough to be taken in by this foolery.
When the Emperor finally walks out among his subjects in his non-existent finery, the crowds watch eagerly. They all want to see which of their friends or neighbours are so stupid that they cannot see the clothes. What actually happens of course, is that none of them see any clothes. But not one of them says anything except to praise the clothes. Perhaps some are embarressed to tell the truth because they think that they themselves must be too stupid to see the cloth. Perhaps others believe that to say anything would be to draw attention to the truth of the Emperor's own stupidity. Perhaps others simply do not wish to be the first to speak out with a contrary voice to the crowd. Only one small child who is far too innocent of all this pretension and conceit and social convention shouts out 'But he hasn't got anything on!' At first his father tries to correct the boy, but gradually the news breaks out and everyone finally realises they are not alone in their inability to see the clothes. And everybody now finds the strength in numbers to admit that there is nothing to see, and they begin to laugh. The Emperor cringes, but continues with the procession, because to turn back would be to admit his own stupidity and gullibility. Better by far to continue on in the pretence that he is the only one with the wisdom to see the clothes. His courtiers likewise feel they have to continue to live the lie, and continue to dutifully follow their leader.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
IN A FEW SHORT PARAGRAPHS THIS FAIRY TALE DEMONSTRATES HOW:
2) The Emperor's pride makes it impossible for him to admit that he cannot see the clothes. Such an admission would deem him to be stupid. Pride makes him deny the truth of his own eyes. He ends up deceiving himself, because his pride matters more to him than the truth.
The message in the real world is that pride comes before a fall. The more pride one has, the more difficult it is to admit one's fallibility, and the more likely one is to allow that fallibility to influence one's judgement.
1) The Emperor's vanity and his overwhelming desire for the finest set of clothes ever to be fashioned, allows the con men to manipulate him. They can play on his vanity. They flatter him to deceive him into parting with his money.
The message in the real world is that vanity can lead one into making the worst of decisions and specifically the worst of purchases. Con artists play on people's vanity. And it's also how advertisers persuade consumers to spend money on expensive luxury items whose beauty may be illusory.
4) The folly of the unquestioning acceptance of 'facts' means that the truth is ignored. The Emperor and courtiers believe what the weavers tell them, and the crowd believe what their leader tells them, in spite of a total lack of hard evidence. The Emperor, the courtiers, the crowd - one after the other - they all assume that the existence of the clothes is unquestionable.
The message in the real world is that we should be critical and objective when examining 'facts'. Too many 'facts' which we hear are in reality merely beliefs and opinions (or even lies in the case of this story). The evidence needs to be very rigorously examined, and this alone should form the basis of our 'facts', or 'truth', even if it results in one arriving at a conclusion which is not popular or politically correct.
3) The Emperor's sense of self importance is boosted by having a bunch of obsequious 'yes men' around him. None of these 'yes men' is prepared to question the intelligence of his judgement and none of them is prepared to say or do anything which might damage their standing in their ruler's eyes.
The message in the real world is that gathering 'yes men' around him is the worst thing a leader can do, be it an emperor, a president, or a managing director. If the followers of a leader are unwilling or unable to tell him the truth, to stand up to him, to criticise when he is wrong, then detachment from reality grows and the leader's conceited self-belief will soar to levels of self-deception. If no one tells him that he is sometimes wrong, he will believe he is always right.
6) The folly of behaving like sheep leads to the crowd living a collective lie. All the crowd can see no clothes and yet none of the crowd is willing to stand up for the truth. It's so much easier for everyone to just go with the consensus and conform, rather than to think for themselves.
The message in the real world is that the instinct to conform and agree with the majority, too often outweighs the courage to say what one actually believes. But history has shown that the majority is not always right. If people in the crowd refuse to stand up for the truth in the presence of a falsehood, then that way lies the descent into a sham society in which the truth is never spoken. The worst excesses of dictators have not come about when they have been forced to brutally defend against courageous opposition. The worst excesses have come when the dictator has been free to continue to live and escalate his lies because the majority - both in the inner circles of government (the 'courtiers') and in the general public (the 'crowd' lining the streets) - have failed to speak out through self-interest or through fear. (Think of the rise of Nazi Germany, and its culmination in the holocaust to see how true this is).
5) The folly of everyone in the story who claims to see beauty where no beauty exists, is the direct result of the collective, undue respect for supposed experts - fake weavers who enthuse over their 'wonderful' cloth, and the court officials who praise the invisible clothes.
The message in the real world is that just as in the story, we far too often believe that something must be good because an 'expert' tells us it's good. The best examples are in the fields of popular culture, fashion and modern art where an absolute absence of talent and beauty may be dressed up with 'image'. In the case of much popular culture and fashion, it should be clear that real talent is lacking - otherwise the culture or fashion would survive. Fashion, by definition, is transient, whilst true talent and beauty will be recognised forever. In the case of modern art, works which require little imagination in their conception and no talent in their creation, sell for $1000s, because they are hyped with pretentious pseudo-intellectual babble (in much the same way as the clothes in the story are hyped by the weavers whose 'expert' words are believed.
The Emperor continues his parade even when the crowd are laughing at him. To turn back would be to admit that he cannot see the clothes (which would label him as 'stupid' according to the weavers) or that he realises he has been fooled by the weavers (in which case he is gullible as well as stupid). Either way, he'd be deemed to be stupid. Instead he continues blindly on pretending that everyone else is wrong and he is right - the most stupid response of all.
The message in the real world is that folly is only compounded by continuing with it. Too many people prefer to carry on blindly rather than admitting to a mistake and withdrawing gracefully and humbly. Many tragedies, even wars, have been caused by continuation with a course of action even after all the evidence has shown it to be misguided.
7) The child who speaks out when no one else dares to, is at first exposed to ridicule and scorn. But eventually truth wins the day as the crowd recognise the lie they've been a party to.
The message in the real world is that free thinking individuality and freedom from social conventions which may be rooted in folly can allow the truth to emerge even when no one else is initially prepared to admit it. This is so true even today. For the innocence of the child in the story, to the man who can see an injustice in society which others are blind to, all should have the confidence to speak out. If the individual is wrong, then at least he has shown guts, but if he is right, then people will gradually appreciate his rightness, and society will change for the better.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Logged
The Emperor continues his parade even when the crowd are laughing at him. To turn back would be to admit that he cannot see the clothes (which would label him as 'stupid' according to the weavers) or that he realises he has been fooled by the weavers (in which case he is gullible as well as stupid). Either way, he'd be deemed to be stupid. Instead he continues blindly on pretending that everyone else is wrong and he is right - the most stupid response of all.
