“Look at every path closely and deliberately, then ask ourselves this crucial question: Does this path have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn't, it is of no use.” ~Carlos Castaneda

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

There'll be no shelter here ...

"They who have put out the people's eyes, reproach them of their blindness."
~ John Milton



...
I need to watch things die
From a good safe distance
Vicariously, I
Live while the whole world dies
You all feel the same so
Why can't we just admit it?
...

Vicarious
TOOL
I remember when it began. At the time, it was a novel thought. I don't know if MTV knew it at the time, but The Real World was ground breaking. It opened a whole new genre, entertaining through others' fortunes or misfortunes. For Generation Y, this has always been a part of their lives. Caricatured lives placed in the open for all to see. Computers and the Internet have perpetuated our desire to create worlds for make believe lives. Avatars are created; caricatures of our inner selves. Social networking sites explode. We don't call any more, just text. In this make believe world, we can live our fantasy lives and project our opinions in a forum with little anxiety, fear, or regulation. For those who felt they had something worth being heard, they took to blogging.

When I began blogging, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was that it was a wonderful community of people with different opinions on any number of topics. For many of the anonymous posters, it is a world where their voices could be heard. Like the wild west, it is an unstructured platform where opinions can be made, discussed, and debated without fear of repercussion. This community has its own set of rules. For many of the medical students and residents, it is their venue. They grew up here. From Myspace to Facebook to Twitter, their lives and ideas have been free form on the Internet. In this brave new world, I am a learner.


...
Hospitals not profit full
The market bull's got pockets full
To advertise some hip disguise
View the world from American eyes
Tha poor adore keep feeding for more
Tha thin line between entertainment and war
fix the need, develop the taste
Buy their products or get laid to waste
Coca-Cola was back in our veins in Saigon
And Rambo too, we got a dope pair of Nikes on
Godzilla pure m@#*&fu%@n' filler
Get your eyes off the real killer

Cinema, simulated life, ill drama
Fourth reich culture, Americana
Chained to the dream they got you searchin for
Tha thin line between entertainment and war
...

There'll Be No Shelter Here
~Rage Against The Machine
In terms of technology and popular information, the medical community is generally behind the times. Caught up in our world of IV's and Ambu bags, we lose perspective on the real world. We teach the youth of America, yet we have no perspective on what is important in their world. Our eyes open only when topics are discussed in the media or cause a direct effect on us (the medical community). We are naive on many issues and undereducated outside of our world.

Change and the unknown create fear. Blogging and social networking is an uncontrolled medium. A venue where opinions can be voiced anonymously open forum. The paranoid mind says this medium will be used to slander the institution or organization and must be regulated. Although universities claim to welcome differences, there are policies that prevent true open discussion of all opposing views. In the Ivory Towers of academic medicine, popular ideas flourish. We feign tolerance. Unpopular thoughts are discounted and discarded. Hierarchy and politics rule. In this atmosphere, subordinates believe they lack the power to question. In an open forum, would I voice my opinions to a superior? As a subordinate, where is my platform?



Born with insight and a raised fist
A witness to the slit wrist, thats with
As we move into 92
Still in a room without a view
Ya got to know
Ya got to know
That when I say go, go, go
Amp up and amplify
Defy
I'm a brother with a furious mind
Action must be taken
We don't need the key
Well break in

Something must be done
About vengeance, a badge and a gun
cause I'll rip the mike, rip the stage, rip the system
I was born to rage against 'em

Fist in ya face, in the place
And I'll drop the style clearly
Know your enemy...know your enemy!

Yeah!

Hey yo, and d!$k with this...uggh!
Word is born
Fight the war, f@!k the norm
Now I got no patience
So sick of complacence
With the d the e the f the I the a the n the c the e
Mind of a revolutionary
So clear the lane
The finger to the land of the chains
What? the land of the free?
Whoever told you that is your enemy?
...

Know You Enemy
~Rage Against The Machine
Like the Real World, the blogging community was ground breaking. A whole new media outlet for millions of people. In this world, they feel empowered. Blogs, forums, and social networking sites give people a place where their anonymous (or non anonymous) voice can be heard. But like reality shows, they have become too popular. People push the limits and step over boundaries forcing regulation. Medical blogs will be tested. Under the guise of HIPPA and professionalism, there will be regulation. The rules will become formalized as policy in a handbook somewhere. Watch what you say and who you challenge because they will be watching. Will this affect the rawness of the ideas, emotion, and opinions? I hope not because that is why I am here.

"No man who knows aught, can be so stupid to deny that all men naturally were born free."
~ John Milton

4 comments:

Chrysalis said...

Now that was one freak-ae video, Someonetc. I'm looking at this at 6:20a.m. here. :O

John Milton's quote from 1642, was originally taken from the Bible ...oh, 3,102 years ago. You can find the vs in ISamuel Chapter 11:2

Bongi said...

what amazing visuals. wow!!

angel, you might want to check your reference. i looked it up in both the afrikaans (ou vertaling) and english (king james) and didn't find it.

Chrysalis said...

Hi Bongi. Verse 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel."

If you were looking for word for word, no - I apologize for not being clearer, but you see it is the same meaning. To put out or thrust out someone's eyes and then reproach them. King James Version was used for reference.

Someonect said...

chrysalis: thanks for the historical/biblical reference. i looked for it too and did not find the word for word.