McLuhan’s 5 Tips for Surviving the Internet

Marshal McLuhan’s theories are germane to understanding the internet—the electric media where we find ourselves stimulated and overwhelmed. McLuhan died in 1980 but stands alone as a guide to making sense of our “too much information” world. 

He saw it coming as clear as day. His tips, appear below, numbered 1-5. They come from Understanding Media, McLuhan’s groundbreaking book from 1964. 

McLuhan’s writings help you gain a measure of confidence about “Why Is This Happening” way more than any TV show by Chris Hayes! 

McLuhan correctly identified the significance of the Sputnik launch (1957) and satellite communications systems. We now had the earth in our electronic embrace.

1) Today the action and reaction occur almost at the same time.

The mechanical/industrial era began in 1450 with Johannes Gutenberg and the printing press. We are now in an era of electric technology. The printing press changed the world. The internet is today's revolution-- and cause of anxiety. 

Some folks didn’t get the memo and think cause-and—effect determines outcomes. There is no chain of logic in the electronic environment. It happens so fast, everything is simultaneous.

2) We actually live mythically and integrally, as it were, but we continue to think in the old, fragmented space and time patters of the pre-electric age. 

The electronic revolution has started to feel oppressive—even to the most enthusiastic Facebook, Instagram, Twitter user.  Just as a fish is not aware of water we don’t know what social media does to our lives. We cannot put down the phone and want to know why! 

We are so connected to screens it makes you want to scream. Your mind, body and spirit is flying around with all the other electrons created by the new environment.

3) In the electric age, where our central nervous system is technologically extended to involve us in all of mankind and to incorporate the whole of mankind in us, we necessarily participate, in depth in the consequences of every action. 

We get too much information, all day long. Is there any escape. Not sure there is. But always remember McLuhan’s great axiom—“the medium is the message.”

McLuhan stated the medium is more significant than whatever the content being produced. 

4) For the “content” of a medium is like the juicy meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.

The content of your phone conversations has little significance; what matters is that you are using the cellphone.  

Donald Trump’s tweets matter less than the fact that he is using Twitter.

McLuhan recognized the difficulty in grasping the internet—abstract and invisible. McLuhan compared his task to Louis Pasteur’s scientific revelations—for germs are also invisible to the eye. 

5) I am in the position of Louis Pasteur telling doctors that their greatest enemy was quite invisible, and quite unrecognized by them.

Do not fall for content the fast-moving hype generated by social media, cable news, etc.. Do remember the medium for therein lives the answer. 

Our very spirit and bodies have become the medium. We extend outward to the whole universe. That’s a lot of electrons to carry on your shoulders. 

Separate from the monster…? Can you not glance at your phone every few seconds…?

Marshall McLuhan is the best medicine—the true doctor for our overworked synapses. 

Read McLuhan before going to bed each night.

George Lakoff: exposing Donald Trump

Somebody finally pulled back the curtain on Donald J. Trump? Maybe Donald Trump has hypnotized the USA, maybe even the whole globe, with his crazy, brilliant tweets. At least somebody figured it out—and his name is George Lakoff, a retired UC Berkeley professor.

Lakoff looks like the cheery professor from Central Casting. He’s full of smiles and a nice tone of voice when he gets interviewed by Ari Melber, a MSNBC anchor. Lakoff smiles but doesn’t get fooled by Trump. He acknowledges Trump is always strategic in his tweeting. And Trump, above all, is a salesman.

Lakoff explains how Trump’s marketing genius works. There are four distinct types of tweets, according to the good professor:

Trump’s Tweets

1)   Preemptive framing

2)   Diversion

3)   Deflection

4)   Trial balloons

The mob howls for Trump to put down his cellphone. How absurd? Trump has the media, his liberal antagonists, the world leaders, including our allies, hanging on his every word. Drop the tweeting... no way. That's like asking Paul Bunyan to get rid of the axe or telling Robin Hood to forget about the bow-and-arrow. 

But finally a TV-talking head reveals how Trump works his magic. George Lakoff, a retired UC Berkeley linguistics professor, sets himself apart by acknowledging that Donald Trump is completely skillful in the execution of his tweets. 

Trumps tweets strategically. His rivals underestimate him. The liberal-minded MSNBC hosts , Ari Melber, Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Brian Williams— promote the message for Trump.

Professor Lakoff does not underestimate Trump.Trump promotes himself and his brand with every statement he makes. They are full of hyperbole:

·      the President is the nation—

·      any leak threatens the security of the President

·      live by Trump’s metaphor—any leak is criminal, etc. unpatriotic

Lakoff goes further and points out that Democrats are always playing defense. They understand facts. The analysis is brilliant. Dems are great on policy but do not understand emotion. Democrats do not understand how the brain works. It’s all about emotion.

Republicans understand emotion. They turn the political debate into a morality play. But people vote on emotion, not the facts. Lakoff adds that Trump’s Tweets do not make him unpopular. His brand is not damaged. He has maintained a 37% approval rating, plus or minus 2%.

Lakoff sees Trump’s failing as the work of a cold heart.

Trump’s Trigger words

·      winning

·      putting down those below him—immigrants

·      wealthy above poor

Trump’s lack of compassion for others is a function of his narcissism. Biologists theorize on the inflexible nature of the narcissist, imagining the sources go beyond theories. Scientists found highly narcissistic people had less gray matter in the left anterior insula. That is the part of the brain linked to empathy.

Donald is just a cold-hearted money making machine. We are his customers—but he’s the one who is always right...

George Lakoff, bless his cheery brilliance-- revealed the Emperor, er, I mean... the President has no clothes. 

Trump's Antagonists: the MSNBC line-up

As daylight transitions to nightfall across this great land, MSNBC anchors kick the anti-Trump rhetoric to more intense levels. The starting team for MSNBC includes a surprising number of Catholics, liberal-minded folk, with personal family histories that include support for liberal causes. They attack Trump relentlessly but the approaches vary and so does the emphasis. 

Here is the list. Time slots reflect CST schedule:

MTP Daily—Chuck Todd

5:00 PM--The Beat with Ari Melber

6:00 PM-- Hardball—Chris Matthews

7:00 PM-- All In With Chris Hayes

8:00 Pm-- The Rachel Maddow Show

9:00 PM--The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (political analyst)

10:00 PM--11^th Hour—Brian Williams  (Chief Anchor)

MSNBC daytime shows include their fair share of Trump criticism but some attention is paid to presenting the news of the day. Chuck Todd's "MTP Daily" marks the pivot point where any sense of objectivity gives way to analysis by the anchor spokespeople. The daytime folks, including Stephanie Ruhle, Ali Velshi, Hallie Jackson, Craig Melvin and Katy Tur, have an unabashedly liberal viewpoint but their shows are not so dense with the detail or policy analysis that comes in the later hours.

Each MSNBC night-time host has certain strengths. They all tend to be photogenic and articulate, and interview effectively. They standout, however, in their intellectual rigor. The support their opinions with strong logic-- especially Ari Melber, a Cornell University law school graduate, and Rachel Maddow, a Stanford University graduate, and  Rhodes Scholar with a PhD from Oxford University, Many have writing credentials as journalists for leading national periodicals. 

These television hosts comprise some of Trump's strongest antagonists. They may not hold official government positions. None are senators or representatives. But their political power is undeniable. Trump spends much time watching television because television is important. The MSNBC anchor people may be Trump's biggest political rivals. They can be dismissed as "talking heads" but they mold opinion and probably dictate Democratic party policy through their powerful electronic megaphone, projecting their thoughtful arguments on a nightly basis, a feedback mechanism to the Trump tweets of the day.

Here is the info I retrieved from Wikipedia-- with a few of my observations tossed in:

 Ari Melber—born 1980 (37 years)

·      graduate of University of Michigan (BA 2002)

·      law school at Cornell (grad 2009)

·      worked for Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign

·      got position of Chief Legal Correspondent with MSNBC in April 2015

·      July 2017 – began hosting The Beat with Ari Melber

·      Sharp, clear thinker

·      Best dressed with great ties

·      Goes deeper with stories

·      Has a lawyer’s sense of precision and logic

Chris Matthews—born 1945 (age 72 years)

·      started with United States Capitol Police

·      speechwriter for Jimmy Carter

·      worked for Tip O’Neill, political battles with Reagan administration

·      described himself as a “centrist”

·      Hardball started in 1997

·      Graduate of Holy Cross 

·      Roman Catholic

·      Has a youthful quality

·      Knows politics from pre-Internet

·      Talks fast, 

·      interrupts guests who are getting lost in their own rhetoric

Chris Hayes—born 1979 (38 years)

·      Brown University (2001 grad)

·      Father did community organizing in the Bronx

·      Raised Catholic

·      Editor at large with Nation magazine

·      Has a grad student quality

·      Took over Ed Schulz time slot in March 2013

Rachel Maddow-- born 1973 (44 years)

·      first openly gay anchor to host a major prime-time news program

·      Stanford grad (1994)

·      Rhodes Scholar

·      PhD from Oxford University

·      Raised “very Catholic”

·      Paternal grandfather from a family of East European Jews

·      TRMS debuted in August 2008 after she took over from Verdict with Dan Abrams

·      Called “America’s wonkiest anchor”

·      Father a US Air Force captain, retired and became attorney

·      Her ratings topped CNN and Fox

·      Has followed Trump-Russia story doggedly

Lawrence O’Donnell—born 1951 (age 66)

·      has worked as producer and writer for The West Wing

·      wrote 16 episodes for The West Wing

·      worked as actor—Big Love

·      worked for Daniel Patrick Moynihan

·      describes himself as a practical European socialist

·      attended Catholic high school

·      Harvard (grad 1974)

·      Wrote for Harvard Lampoon—popular guy

·      Aggressive debate style

·      Partnered MSNBC with UNICEF to get school desks for children in Malawi

Brian Williams—born 1959 (age 58)

·      from a boisterous Catholic family

·      Mater Dei High School

·      George Washington and Catholic University but no degrees

·      Anchor at NBC Nightly News starting in 2004

·      Suspended in 2015 for misrepresenting his experience at the invasion of Iraq in 2003

·      Returned to air in 2015 with MSNBC

·      Serial exaggerator of his own accomplishments