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Here's a Thought

 

“Here’s a Thought” is a series of commentaries relating to modern political and sociological behavior of American culture. These commentaries are not absolute, but rather observations about the world in which we live. Their purpose is only to inspire thought through contemplation. These thoughts are to address freedom, democracy, spirituality, art, and technology. Although these ideas are abstract concepts, that is to say non-material, their meaning is real and clearly understood by those who wish to control the narrative.
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As an artist it is my responsibility to reflect upon the issues, and concerns that dominate the culture. Through art, we capture the moment for others to reflect and consider. From moment to moment our perspective changes and therefore, so does our opinion. As such, all the HaT commentaries below, continue to evolve. If you would like to comment on any of these Thoughts, please email me at jcrawford@pacific.edu
Opinions​
Here’s a thought - We have all heard the phrase, “you’re entitled to your opinion.” But what happens when your opinion contradicts accepted perceptions of reality such as laws of physics, rules of gravity, and scientific truth. Those things that are clearly obvious to any reasonable person, such as don’t stand in the middle of a busy highway, don’t jump off a 10-story building, and don’t drink bleach to cure a virus. In many ways, this is what the 2024 presidential election was all about. It’s not about Democrat versus Republican, or liberal versus conservative. It’s about basic human understanding, and the ability to distinguish between right from wrong. It’s about the two party system, good or bad, and if it should continue to exist. It’s about representative government, or whether we should elect a president who will dictate who should be allowed to have freedom? It’s about whether a woman should have the final say over her body or should the government control her biological choices? And it’s about whether a convicted felon, a pathological liar, a narcissist, and a person with clear psychological issues, should be in charge of a nuclear superpower. Given all these questions, along with the blatant denial of substantiated evidence by a majority of Americans, how does the facts turn into nonsensical opinion?
Googlement
Here’s a thought - If American democracy collapses, what might replace it? How about Googlment. Google provides a wide assortment of tools and holds enough data storage for information on just about everything and everyone needed to run a government, minus democratic participation. Google is a private company,   and therefore not required to abide by any US Constitutional law. When you use Google, you give up your rights to the data you create. Yes, it’s still your information and they cannot take away your ownership, however, they can use your information, sell it to other companies, or use it for their own political needs.

Have you ever heard of an EAT Score? Eat stands for: Expert, Authority, and Trustworthy. For every website listed through the Google search engine and EAT score is assigned. Google uses AI technology to evaluate websites validity according to Google technological ideology. Websites that do not comply to their EAT evaluation, receive lower EAT scores and therefore lower visibility. That is to say those websites are much lower on `the search list or deleted altogether. In another words, they make it harder for you to find things they don’t want you to know, and easy to find  those things that align with their political corporate values. So the next time you perform a Google search, ask yourself, is the top result the best result or is it Google feeding you the choice they want you to see?
Climate Change
Here’s a thought - Over the years throughout the country, summers seem to be getting warmer and national whether-patterns are more erratic. In the last few years, long stretches of hot temperatures of 105° are becoming regular throughout July and August. Severe weather conditions across the United States with massive floods, terrible tornadoes, unbearable heat waves, and historic hurricanes are now common place. Climate change is real and we can no longer ignore the truth. As concerned Americans, we must face the fact and begin to drastically change our careless energy habits. To do this, policies must be set to restrict the use of fossil fuels. We need to subsidize through tax incentives the cost-effective use of solar energy, electric vehicles, and other energy saving technologies. We must work to put in place renewable energy resources while making them affordable for all households and businesses across the country, and tax those who refuse to acknowledge and remedy the environmental crisis that is happening on a global scale. It’s true, the technology for unlimited clean, and affordable energy is here. Solar, wind, water, geothermal, and something known as resonant field energy are just a few of the renewable energy resources available. The only thing preventing humanity from transforming our world is greed.  Those so wealthy they can afford any price and not care. Those people more interested in making profit over the health of the human species. Why is it that hundreds of millions on the planet need to suffer by a handful of multi-billionaires that have so much, not even a world-wide climate crisis causes concern?
The Rightwing Philosophy
Here's a thought. - Why is it that the far rightwing of the Republican party act like bullies with no regard for tolerance and compassion? Are they not human beings? Do they not care about little children? Do they not require food, water, and shelter to live? Do they not suffer pain, or understand the pain and suffering of others? No, it’s because of their Darwinian philosophy, survival of the fittest. This is how they claim to be a “real” American. Everyone out for themselves, or those with whom they directly hold allegiance. The rightwing of the Republican party feel the poor, the week, the disabled, and those who believe we are all equal under the law should stop complaining, pull themselves up by their boot straps, or shut up and get out of the way. No snowflakes, wimps or fairies allowed. In America today, only rich white straight male Americans should have rights. Now the far rightwing Republican philosophy, influenced by the heartless MAGA movement has taken it one step further. No longer is It the survival of the fittest, it is now survival only for the richest. No one, no person, no environment, no political structure, no social services, no healthcare, no education, no opportunity, no democracy, and no freedom is allowed for anyone unless you are part of the wealthy elite or owned by the wealthy elite. Just like mobster mentality, the rich rightwing corporate elite are pimping out Republican representatives to pay for their exorbitant luxurious lifestyle, while everyday Americans starve or die, becoming the surfs of the rising corporate kingdom.
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The Ego
Here’s a Thought – The ego, more of an abstract concept than a physical thing, is important to our existence.  It protects our consciousness from verbal abuse, it provides the drive for achieving great accomplishments, and it supports our self-image. However, it teeters on the fine line of good and bad. For a healthy ego, balance is required. Just like a circus performer in a high wire act, the over leaning to either side spells doom. Leaning to the right, having no regard for anyone else but the interest of ones-self can cause great harm to all things. On the other side, leaning to the left, having little confidence in the decisions we make, hesitating on every step, can also lead to a destructive outcome. Without having a balanced ego, extreme emotional and/or physical crisis can occur. To believe you are right about something and no matter what the evidence shows, your ego continues to defend your position, affecting others in negative ways. This is known as ignorance and denial,  while preventing growth in human knowledge. On the other hand, being so doubtful that you even question the purpose of your own existence, can lead to addiction and potential suicide. When it comes to the balance of the ego, perhaps the best idea is to let go of the ego and concentrate your efforts on helping others. By doing so, your ego is compassionately charged with the energy that you made a meaningful difference in someone else’s life.
The AI Tool
Here’s a Thought - AI, or Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool. In music, we use AI to generate musical phrases, complex chord structures, intricate rhythmic and melodic patterns, and even whole songs with vocals and lyrics by just a click or a swipe of our finger. Using AI in computer graphics, we can simply describe verbally a landscape or a house, and with just a few details construct an image that is representative, identifiable and fabricated. This holds true for video production, poetry, and photography.
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AI is also widely used in discerning and sorting information, collecting specified data out of a mass collection of data. Just think, everything we do throughout our day online is collected, sorted, targeted, and disseminated by AI algorithms and AI bots. Early on in the AI revolution, we are beginning to see how AI can be easily used to confuse and distort reality. If you consider that AI data gathering is linked to all facets of computer technology, and computers are logically dispassionate to the extreme, given instructions by a controlling and dominating political force, AI could lead to our destruction by relying on AI for advice and direction. It must be noted that we now commonly use the acronym, AI, instead of the more descriptive term, artificial intelligence. Is the practice of saying AI and not artificial intelligence, diluting our critical thinking, and the impact of what AI truly represents? Perhaps we do this to separate ourselves as intelligent human beings who use AI, from the frightening realization of an artificially intelligent system using us.
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Finally, for those that believe AI is just another tool that will help humanity in all of its endeavors—like a religion, nothing created by an imperfect being can ever create a perfect world. Yes, AI is here, and it will be a significant part of our future. Just remember the more we rely on AI technology to accomplish an outcome, the less we really need to know the discipline. The less we need to know, the stupider we become, eliminating the need for human intelligence altogether.
The Validity of Electronic Music
Here's a Thought – Music has always been considered as a universal language. As long as we can perceive the music, the vibrations, tones, rhythms, melodies, and chords, the music will have some kind of an emotional and/or intellectual impact on our human consciousness. According to the French physicist Joseph Fourier, and I’m paraphrasing here: any periodic acoustic event can be broken down into sign waves at various harmonic frequencies, amplitudes levels, and phase angles. What this means is complex sounds over time encompasses a wide variety of sonic parameter variations adding envelope, velocity, harmonic structure, and wavelength. It is this variety of acoustical parameters within a given sound that creates the fundamental interest in the music. Of course, it is not just the variety of sonic parameters that creates the interest, but how that variety of  parameters are intentionally organized. This organization of parameters is known as music composition. The accepted mechanism used by Western composers throughout history is the visual method of notation. Notation was and is necessary for a composer to convey their musical ideas to the performer or orchestra.  In turn, the orchestra members become the visual score interpreter, along with the conductor, for the audience to experience the composer’s work. All of this has now changed with the introduction of music technology.
 
From Thomas Edison’s recording and playback of Mary had a little lamb, two the electronic and computer music pioneers such as Bob Moog, Don Buckla and Dave Smith; the creation, recording, and playback of music composition has changed dramatically. Today, music composition can be created in as many ways as there are instruments in the world, or music applications on a computer drive. So which form of music composition, acoustic or electronic, holds more weight in the eyes of the academic music making establishment? Does the visualization of music give traditional music composers more validity, and thereby greater recognition? Is it necessary to judge a composition by its method of creation, and not by its artistic impact? Is music theory and visual notation a form of classical conditioning? Is it not more important to express the art and love of music regardless of performance? As an electronic music composer working with the basic audio parameters mentioned above, creating composition from that perspective is no less valid—as long as its humanly conceptualized and created.
Eternity
Here’s a Thought – For just a moment, consider the possibility the “after life,” is conclusively proven to be non-existent. That upon death, your experience is exactly the same as all the time that existed before you were born—becoming conscious. The infinite time before our existence and the infinite time after our death has no memory and therefore, has no living reference. All that we know as our existence is now. How would you feel about your own life and that of others. Would you hate and fear people different from you for their existence? Would you grab everything you could get regardless of whom or what you might hurt in the process? Would you just not care about anything and be like the proverbial grasshopper. Or would you understand that what you do throughout your life is captured and retained as part of the human condition. Although you cease to exist, your life leaves a positive or negative historical impact on those not yet dead, or those yet to come. Would you start to appreciate every day of your life, and be grateful for all that shares your existence with you? Or would you only think about your own personal needs and wants. It’s true, that which we cannot know, we can have no knowledge. This is the metaphysical struggle we face in life when we think about what’s next. Confronted with this realization, focusing on what waits for us upon death is fruitless. At some point, we are all going to die. Knowing this truth frees us from holding allegiance to any ideology that restricts our thinking, while opening us to all that is possible in the world. In the end, what is important is how we love, respect, and care for all things in nature during our lifetime. So here’s the final question, how would you like to be remembered? It is for that reason, creating art in all forms can serve as our living eternity. So now, go ahead and create something meaningful.
Addiction Monster

Here's a Thought – Of all the illnesses that plague the planet, physical illnesses like cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes; and social illnesses, such as poverty, hunger, ignorance, and prejudice, you would think by now, with all our technology and intellectual capacity, we would have been able to cure these diseases? Unfortunately, the answer and root cause for all these illnesses is something so psychologically subtle yet damaging to the health of the human condition, we do not even recognize the effect until it’s much too late.

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Addiction is a monstrous illness. The truth is we all fall victim to this illness in some way. It is monstrous because of its ability of latching onto a victim without the individual’s  immediate realization. The illness effect the brain by stimulating pleasure centers, making us feel good. Feeling good is not a bad thing, until it begins to affect ourselves and others in negative ways. As it can make the individual feel good, it can slowly and covertly steer us away from our personal responsibility to ourselves and others. Drug addiction such as nicotine, alcohol, and opioids, are self-destructing illnesses to the addicted individual, and the people affected by their addiction. Yet substance abuse is just one of the many forms of addiction plaguing the human condition. The illness of gambling, sexual abuse, child abuse, and religion in the form of extremists, can become a very dangerous and controlling  addiction. Even gaming, like gambling has the ability to remove the individual from family and/or society. And of course, dynamic addictions such as power and greed, impacts the entire planet. So how can we deal with this monstrous illness? First thing, recognize that you are addicted. Then admit your addiction to family and friends. Make your addiction known and public. Realized the truth of addiction control. Don’t keep it a secret! In secret, addiction creates denial, and denial leads to avoidance of personal responsibility. Once the addiction becomes irresponsible, anything can happen such as those illnesses listed above, all of which can lead to harming others.

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Finally, the addiction to social media by our contemporary culture is a new unknown to future human interaction, and interpersonal communication. As people become conveniently dependent on AI generated answers, will the addiction to technology overwhelm our ability to think independently? The key to our continuation as human beings is balance through the realization of our responsibility, empathy, compassion, love, and understanding. These healthy emotional states will prevent the monster of addiction to take hold and thrive.

The Intention of Art
Here’s a Thought – Throughout human history, art has been the expression of our personal experience, through some medium, relating or reflecting human culture. How each artist expresses their artistic vision must not and should not be judge by the cultural norms of any given time period. In order for true art to exist, it must be free, unbound, and honest. Unfortunately, this can create deep divides and tremendous conflicts by those who choose to judge the art by their personal biases or the standards of the day. Problems arise when the art form is seen as a symbol of something unpleasant, disruptive, hateful, or disrespectful. Should Robert Maplethorpe “Pissed Christ” be removed from public viewing? Should “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger be removed from public library shelves? Should the Holy Bible not be available to read in public schools? Should the Robert E Lee monument in Virginia be dismantled and completely destroyed? It’s difficult to know how to approach controversial art. Should all controversial art, determined by a contemporary cultural criterion be banned from the public? Can an art form that is claimed to insight anger and violence be questioned? In the case of Robert E Lee’s monument in Richmond Virginia, the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the monument’s dismantling  in 2021, motivated by the George Floyd shooting.
 
No doubt, art inspires and creates strong positive and/or negative emotional energies. This is true for the theater, movies, music, literature, poetry, sculpture, painting, photography, and even gaming. Is it not our choice to be inspired or repelled by the art form we experience? Are we too emotional to separate the difference between feeling about and/or acting upon? Art does not intentionally kill people. That is never the purpose of the humble artist—unless you are a craftsman of weapons technology.
Bullies
Here’s a Thought – In the past, being a bully was looked down upon by the everyday American family. It was understood that a bully was someone with deep self-esteem issues. Their bulling was a way for them to feel powerful thereby suppressing their insecurity deep within their subconscious mind. Bullies tend to be insulting, disrespectful, and demanding with little regard to the needs of others. They’re only purpose is to gratify themselves and build upon their self-interest. In many cases, bullies cause harm to others, being self-validated by the suffering they afflict. So why has bulling, within our social and political culture, becomes so prevalent?  Yes, it is important to assert an opinion, but at the same time, an open mind is necessary for growth. By Listening to other peoples’ suggestions and ideas we learn. That is what is known as civilized human behavior. No one person can know everything. However, when you have a dominant bullying ego, and a reputation for creating harm and abuse, those with a lesser moral and ethical character can be influenced by the rhetoric of a loud and insulting bully. So how do you overcome and disarm a bully?

First, you must separate them from their supporters or gang. You must call them out and challenge them one on one. You need to disarm the bully’s rhetoric and find the emotional trigger that reveals their weakness. Standing up to a bully is not easy. It takes an enormous amount of courage, humility, and effective diplomacy to change a hostile situation into a workable outcome. Just remember your life, and that of others around you will continue to suffer at the hands of a bully unless something radically happens.
The Facebook Mechanism
Here’s a Thought - Facebook, the most popular Internet platform in the world today for social media, event promotion, and video testimonials is a convenient way to reach a large audience or network of friends and likeminded people. It is free to anyone 18 or older and allows for posts, likes, comments, and shares to other Facebook users. It is a powerful mechanism that can be used to provide promotional information and user comments on the political topics of the day. Almost everyone uses Facebook without any concern or consideration for the Facebook mechanism.
 
Because Facebook is FREE, to use it, you must create a Facebook account. By doing so, you agree to all the terms and conditions written by highly paid and skilled teams of corporate lawyers and digital media experts whose soul purpose is to protect, sell, and make money with Facebook. The funny thing about all those corporate employees, your free subscription pays their million dollar salaries. How? META, the parent company behind Facebook, gathers your data on every second you interact with Facebook. Every post, like, comment, share, keystroke, mouse hover, and clicked image, is sold as packaged data product to other multinational corporations for a huge price. What’s even more ominous, the sorting of your data is being meticulously organized by faceless AI algorithms that provide extensive information on you to any corporation interested in purchasing your data.
 
For example, your church is having a bake sale to raise money to send kids to a summer camp program. You create a Facebook post promoting and explaining what the summer camp program is all about. Of course, Facebook has all your data, collected since you created your Facebook account. Now, Facebook has all the data on all the people who responded in some way to your post and connect that with the location, membership profile and Organizational background on the camp and church of which you belong. Yes, the summer camp bake sale raises the target amount of money required to send 20-kids to summer camp. However, the amount of data generated by yourself, all the Facebook church members, everyone who liked and responded to the post, and even those who just rolled over the image of happy kids at camp, has all been collected, sorted, efficiently AI organized, and packaged for sale to companies that pay millions of dollars for the data. Meanwhile, Facebook sells advertisements for those same companies that use your data to make additional profit. Sure, 20-kids went to summer camp. However, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, a privately own entity with no constitutional responsibilities and all the executive board members and business associates of Facebook, having no concern for those campers, are paid hundreds of millions of dollars selling your data, keeping the Facebook mechanism fat and happy.
Fear Control
Here’s a Thought – Fear is the most basic of human emotions that can cause us to respond in very specific ways. Deep within our primitive animal instinct, fear is a survival mechanism. As such, fear can be effectively used as a manipulating tool of control. When we fear for our lives, we will do anything to preserve our existence. This is when fear becomes overwhelming. If you know how to create fear in others, you have control of their ability to think and reason.
 
In America today, fear is being used to manipulate and scare innocent people with no real power of their own. Living a day-to-day existence, having little to no money for food, healthcare, and housing, they turn to the only thing they can do about their fearful situation. They find someone or something to blame. However, the target of blame is not a random idea. Put forth by those who control the narrative, abstractions such as terrorism, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, transsexuals, leftist liberals, violent minorities, the homeless, and so on; provide the target for things to fear and by extension, to hate.
 
So how does an abstraction, a non-material thing that only exists as a concept, generates the fear and hate we see only too often? By repetition. Through all forms of social media, we are continuously bombarded by the results of AI algorithms that can project divisiveness. Through the use of Google, Facebook and YouTube, our viewing choices are collected and disseminated by AI systems designed to amplify repetition. It is for that reason, Google, Facebook, YouTube and other social media outlets, generate content that best fits our selected viewing choices. What this means is we only see what we want to believe. Our fear is amplified with narrow vision, and artificial villains we can conveniently place our blame upon. How can we break this cycle?
 
To break the cycle of fear, we must begin to have conversations with real people and not just react and respond to social media technology. Our smart phones, tablets, and desktop computers are humanity filters preventing us from knowing flesh and blood individuals. We need to not fear our neighbors and/or the person sitting next to us but talk about who we are and what we think. Be open to the opinion of others and try to engage in a non-combative conversation about subjects that matter. Only then will we realize that people that do not look like us, or talk like us, are not our enemy but a human being—no different than you.
If you wish to respond with a comment, please email me at: jcrawford@pacific.edu
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