Hoax

The recent 'balloon boy' hoax has uncovered the current gullible nature of a mass-media society. Millions were convinced that the live coverage was really about a boy in a shiny balloon. The TV outlets loved it. Sponsors were probably calling up as it was happening to get product placement onto those millions of screens.

Madoff was a hoax master. The guys at Enron were as well. How many hoaxes have been successful in this last decade of funny money, 'lent' to the gullible? Billions and billions of dollars worth. That's how many. We will all be paying for that gullibilty for years to come.

The deeper meaning for our culture is seldom addressed in the media. Why? The media live off your gullibility. If you weren't suggestible, there would be no commercials. There probably wouldn't be any broadcast TV.

So, why be so surprised when a demented parent abuses his paternity by enlisting his cherubic child in a fraud in order to get back on TV? It's just a symptom of a society polluted by commercial media.

My own practice has entailed not watching commercial television for the past 20+ years. I have found it tremendously liberating. I am happily clueless about American Idol, Survivor, Dancing with the Stars and the rest of the fluff they serve up to sell us more fluff. Taking the time wasted on watching commercial television, or television at all, opens a huge reservoir of useful time for expanding intelligence, education, relaxation, volunteering, exercise, creativity, community service, proactive parenting or anything else.