quip of the week

i really am not this cynical

this here is a quip from the book entitled, "amusing ourselves to death" by Neil Postman. every once and a while there is a really gripping passage that I come across, so i thought to myself, "why not post it on this site?" I do realize that there are at least two cynical postings on this site currently--so I apologize. But at least I dont have any bumper stickers on my car...

well, anyway--here is the passage:

What Huxley teaches is that in the age of advanced technology, spiritual devastation is more likely to come from an enemy with a smiling face than from one whose countenance exudes suspicion and hate. In the Huxleyan prophecy, Big Brother does not watch us, by his choice. We watch him, by ours. There is no need for wardens or gates or Ministries of Truth. When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of enertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility.