Relaxed Focus: March 20, 2016

Stop Judging Other People’s Escapism: "...everyone wants to complain that the Kardashians, or whoever it is at the moment, was on every article and magazine 237 times last month. But the fact is that it’s not the Kardashians’ fault that they’re being talked about non-stop. It’s not the hucksters’ fault who are selling you that “bullshit.”

The market isn’t decided by the marketers or the media, it’s decided by the consumer and the spam artists are just reacting to it. It’s cool if you think the Kardashians are shit, but millions of other people find value in them. It’s a fair game and that’s why I love it, period. But an even more important point than the fairness of the marketplace is that we need to stop judging other people’s escapism in the first place! I don’t care if you like the Kardashians—good for you! I like the Jets! That could be a complete waste of five hours out of a day where I’m not hustling. The fact of the matter is that everybody needs escapism and it’s very important that you understand what may be a waste of time for you is someone else’s solace and moment to unwind...

We’re wasting way too much time judging other people’s choice of how they spend their leisure time. If you don’t like something, you can stop buying or engaging with it. It’s that simple."

This Generation Will Be Fine: Why Social Media Won’t Ruin Us: "When people express concern about how smartphones are damaging our young people, I laugh. This anxiety that the internet is going to ruin real human interactions is reminiscent of parents in the 50s who were worried that Elvis shaking his hips was the devil.

Let’s be very clear here. Being concerned about cultural progression “damaging us as a society” always repeats itself with the current trend and will continue to play itself out again and again and again. Millennials are no different from Gen Y, Gen X, or any previous generation when it comes to being affected by a culture shift.

In the 1940s, people had their heads in the newspaper and theirs ears to the radio. By the 60s, it was the TV. What about everyone today on their laptop and smartphones at a Starbucks? See what I’m getting at? What’s happening with technology in our culture and society is just evolution. Technology is not undermining real human interactions. Instead, it is exposing people for who they really are. I have been asked many times, “What are we teaching the young people?” I’ve watched the behavior of 14 year old girls spending 10 minutes to take the best selfie, post it on Instagram, and then take it down when it doesn’t get enough likes. This superficial behavior tends to concern pundits who think that technology is the cause of this appearance driven, attention seeking behavior in teenagers. But the thing is, teenagers have always strived to be liked and sought the attention of their peers and potential significant others. Selfies on Instagram is the evolution of this same behavior."

This Generation Will Be Fine: Why Social Media Won’t Ruin Us: "Technology provides us additional pathways to act on these behavioral tendencies that have always existed...

The problem is that we get scared of everything that we didn’t grow up with; it’s what human beings do. Every new medium brings along a healthy fear that the newest invention will ruin society. But, the truth is that people will always be looking for new ways to be entertained, consume media, and engage with each other.

Tweet Technology has not changed us, it just makes it easier to engage in behaviors that we would rather be doing anyway. Some families watched TV instead of talking to each other in the 60’s. Today, those same families play on their phones and check their likes on Instagram during dinner. In no way am I telling you how your family should be spending time with each other, but there is always going to be something in every generation that is going to “bring us down” as a society.” Either you are a pessimist or optimist on this issue. I am an optimist. This is just evolution."

Nixon Invented the Drug War to Decimate Hippies and Black People, Former Adviser Confesses - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "President Richard Nixon launched the War on Drugs for one specific reason: to decimate his perceived political enemies—the anti-war left, and black people. That's according to an anecdote in a lengthy cover story for Harper's, in which journalist Dan Baum recounts an interview he conducted with John Erlichman, a former Nixon staffer who was jailed for one year due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Unprompted, Erlichman confessed the true purpose of federal drug prohibition:

“You want to know what this was really all about?” he asked with the bluntness of a man who, after public disgrace and a stretch in federal prison, had little left to protect. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”"