Waterton Wisdom

There is no such thing as freedom of speech on the internet. Yes, you can write things, and say things, but, in the end, someone can come along and delete your words, delete your platform. The only real free speech in the world is found through personal dialogue, personal declarations, and print media – newspapers, books, magazines, posters, and the like. Don’t be fooled by Google and Meta and Twitter…you participate at their beck and call.

If you want to be happy, untether from your screens, and take a walk among plants and animals, the things that are real, the things that matter.

It is no coincidence that, during an epidemic of mass murder in the United States – whereby distraught cowards shoot as many unsuspecting people as possible, every other movie out of Hollywood glorifies and actually promotes extreme choreographed violence within the context of revenge.

Some eighty years ago, media companies were just finding out that they could get people to watch advertisements for products on an electronic screen if they were embedded in something people actually “wanted” to watch. As the electronic screen age advanced, so did the media giants’ ability to keep people watching the screen. Content producers discovered that the more startling the presentation, the more glued to the screen their audience, and the more money they could make with advertising. Things have not changed. People are still being manipulated by giant media companies – only the screen size has shrunk, making it a 24/7 portable marketing machine.

Be careful who you admire. Blind following has replaced rugged individualism. Wall Street greed is now supposed to be the goal, and extreme wealth is supposed to be the benchmark of success. Make your own benchmark, tune out the hucksters, and strive for a life of personal fulfillment.

The goal of artificial intelligence (AI) is first to make a device that thinks like a person would think if that person had an almost unlimited store of information. AI is capable of making judgment calls and exercising discretion in formulating conclusions and/or implementing processes. A machine using AI may be able to perform tasks that require variable responses. As such, a human operator would not be needed. Funny how much of digital technology keeps evolving in ways that are designed to improve people’s lives but in fact has the opposite effect. Computers are on an evolutionary trajectory to supplant all other life forms on Earth. Sound familiar?

There is nothing “free” about speech stifled out of fear of harm – be it personal, professional, or financial – regardless of the source.

Words written on the 72nd rung of the ladder of success: “The further up I go the more unhappy I become.”