Society – Mentatul

Novel Measures to Cope with a Novel Virus

6April2020Axonn EchysttasSocietycoronavirus

This is a living post and will be updated frequently. It is a collection of community-inspired unique approaches & thoughts about how to tackle the Corona virus crisis.

The world will never be the same. If there’s a time to raise to the occasion, that time is now. But what to do? You’re smart. You’ll figure something out! And when you do, please reach out. Not necessarily in the comments below, but to your friends, particularly those whom you feel as a good partner.

Social Activism and Treading Carefully

15September2019Axonn EchysttasSocietyactivism, awareness

Throughout history stretches a long list with names of activists that were persecuted, tortured and even killed. Sometimes, their suffering or death only accelerated the changes they fought for.

But there’s an even longer (and mostly unknown) list with the names of hidden activists. Those that have treaded carefully and taken fewer risks in order to ensure their safety and thus, the longevity of their work. These are the little-known heroes that operated patiently, within the confines of a system (and often working around the system), changing it from the inside, slowly but surely (and often collaborating with the “outsiders” more than we will know in this lifetime).

What determines the success of a message? The shock and confrontation approach, or a slow and careful process of sculpting society? A sprint prodding others to act, or a marathon of implementation? The answer is: any mix of the above. That’s where an activist’s strategy comes into play. And let’s not forget that chance also plays a role.

How to Destroy Democracy – A Practical Guide

15May2019Axonn EchysttasSocietycorporation, democracy, directdemocracy, lobbying, politician

How to destroy democracy in 7 simple steps: 1. Employ representative democracy. 2. Own the democratic menu. 3. Control education. 4. Control the media. 5. Suppress dialogue. 6. By controlling education & the media, representative democracy should be presented just as “democracy”: this is the real democracy, there is no other. 7. Continuously spray each crop of politicians and research new spraying methods and compounds.

Oh, democracy, how proud some countries are to have you. But oh, democracy, are you really there? The vast majority of “democratic” countries in the world employ a twisted version of the original concept called “representative democracy”. That is to say, instead of direct democracy – where all citizens can directly express their opinion about each and every single thing happening in their society) – the country is run by a select group of “experts” (politicians) who are supposedly more qualified to decide regarding what’s best for their constituents.

Now-a-days, few people seem to realize that specialized ministries (education, agriculture, development) are in fact drowned by graduates of political schools and other bureaucrats that have almost no clue about the ministry they’re supposed to lead. These people are quickly transformed into puppets of corporations that gladly offer their “advice” regarding how things should be run.

Prison 2.0

15November2018Axonn EchysttasSocietyprison, reform

As our civilization develops, so do our social structures and institutions. There’s daily news about all sorts of innovative ways technology is used to improve everything about our society ranging from transportation and agriculture to healthcare and education. But… what about prisons?

Oh, there’s news about prisons too: riots, overcrowding and dismal results when it comes to actually convincing criminals that it’s better to respect the rules of society. So, when do those that have the most need of a guiding light get to see some improvement in how we help them rebuild their lives?

Prisons have evolved, as illustrated by countries such as Norway. For the most part, however, detention institutions are still stuck in what will be looked at by the historians of the future as one of the longest-lasting vestiges of an unenlightened past. In a century or two, we will look at the prisons of today just like we now look at torture chambers.

Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

2July2018Axonn EchysttasSocietyethics, evolution, income inequality

We often gasp at the amount of wealth various entrepreneurs have amassed. News about economic inequality (sometimes known as income inequality) is quite common lately, and so it should be. Slowly but surely, society’s patience is reaching the breaking point and when that happens, chaos ensues.

It is hard not to be shocked when confronted with the knowledge that the accumulated wealth of 42 individuals (no typo, it really is a two-digit number) is greater than that of the poorest half of the world’s population put together. And then there’s that already outdated statistic about the world’s top 1% owning more than the bottom X% (82% as of 2017 and growing).

Is there a reason to rage when these statistics show up? To many, the answer is an obvious “yes”. Indeed, the disparity is staggering, but fury isn’t usually the right attitude to address a problem. There are many factors that contribute to the present state of affairs and we are directly responsible for some of them. Owning up to this is the first step towards improving things.

As I’ll soon show, there are different kinds of “rich and powerful”. Some of these people are highly beneficial for the progress of our species, while others are destroying lives and wrecking our ecosystem, dragging down society by setting the wrong examples.

The Survival Instinct and the Rules of the Human Game

15March2018Axonn EchysttasSocietyethics, freewill, instinct, survival

Irrespective of us having free will or not, at least a part of our mind is taking decisions based on a very deeply rooted program. That program is our instinct and, like for all other species, its job is to ensure our survival. Instinct is both necessary and ruthless.

In the same time, we’re living in a society that reaches for higher moral grounds through the evolution of ethics and empathy. Our need for moral progress is probably also an evolutionary trait, ensuring social progress, which is a necessity of our survival as a species. We have gotten this far not only because we are skilled individuals, but also because we’ve found ways to work together through the direst of circumstances. However, the evolution of our society is sometimes in conflict with the instinct of the individual.

Mainstream Entertainment and Objectification

4September2016Axonn EchysttasAnalysis, Societyentertainment, human, lifeform, objectification

The digital age has made audio-visual entertainment cheap, easy to obtain and, for an ever-increasing number of people it became one of the main means of counteracting the stress of daily life.

Cinematography and computer games are the undisputed leaders when it comes to this sort of fun. There are a lot of excellent movies and games out there. The opposite is also true and therein lays a problem: entertainment is a highly efficient means of propagating stereotypes and ideologies. Let’s take a look at some of these effects (such as the stereotyping of the human body) and observe how they sometimes end up damaging our society.

The Intellectual Diet

30March2016Axonn Echysttas8 CommentsAnalysis, Societyadvertisement, consciousness, corporation, intellect, violence

Just like the body is what it eats, the mind is what it experiences. This is a truth with vast and grave implications when it comes to the types of entertainment we invest our time in. Entertainment is a highly efficient social programming tool because when entertained the mind is open and relaxed. While in this state, it is easier for toxic messages to escape our scrutiny and infiltrate our thoughts.

A simple example about how entertainment has negatively affected our society is the impressive range of stereotypes it helped create. We need to look no further than the objectification of both women and men. The silent enforcement of ideal body types starts as early as the first cartoons kids watch and continues throughout the adult life, slowly dripping into our minds from movies to magazine covers and commercials.

Mentatul

Because being informed is just not enough anymore...

Mentatul

Because being informed is just not enough anymore...

Novel Measures to Cope with a Novel Virus

Social Activism and Treading Carefully

How to Destroy Democracy – A Practical Guide

Prison 2.0

Fairness in the World of Economic Inequality

The Survival Instinct and the Rules of the Human Game

Mainstream Entertainment and Objectification

The Intellectual Diet