Tag Archives: writing

Commentary

Seattle

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Coffee and gadgetsSeattle.

I don’t often seek to fall into the cliches of my travel destinations and even go to lengths to avoid them. However, I find myself, today, smack dab in the middle of one. And it’s not so bad! I love the vibes it’s giving as I’m surrounded with artificial living walls.

I sit here in the cold northwest. The origin of rain and coffee, as I am led to believe. On this winter afternoon, the sun tires of the cold and, itself, leaves to beat the rush hour traffic. It is shortly after 5pm and the sun is already home. When traveling, some even hire services such as https://executive-chauffeur-services.co.uk/ to see the sights in a limo with a private driver. Sometimes I wish to do that as well. But now, I’m enjoying my alone time in this cozy little cafe, basking in the sights of Seattle.

When I’m with my family, I rarely get this time for myself. So, I’m taking it all in, one pastry at a time.

I avoid all that I should be doing and sit here in a coffee cafe. With a wifi linked computer. My cell phone. A pastry. My mocha coffee. In Seattle. All by myself with all these people around.

Seattle.

Commentary

FEAR Uncertainty and Doubt

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FUD, a term made popular several years ago, attributed to offensive use of marketing and public relations hype by tech companies (okay, it was Microsoft) to defend territory that it had yet to occupy. In recent years the media have taken to exposing themselves as tools of politicians and marketing institutions in the broader context of culture in which we are all exposed.

I am sure that it is racheted up with every generation that we are encouraged to shield ourselves further from all things that are not us. Whether it is dirt, germs, fellow humans, countries, environment, thought, or religion, we are barraged with more and more warnings about the dangers that lurk in the shadows of things that we do not know.

It is a sad state of life that those in positions of influence (media, advertising, politics) have learned to leverage these fears to coerce us to make unknowingly irrational decisions appear rational. The worst outcome of succumbing to these influences is the continued manipulation of our decisions through the mistrust of all those.

Do not talk to strangers; do not touch that; do not eat that; do not go there. The world is a dangerous place, you’d best just stay inside your padded room.

And, oh, by the way, buy our products and buy our rhetoric because they will protect you from dangers from which you are not even aware!