To Breathe Together: Essence of solving Mysteries

When you want to talk about conspiracy theories, the best way is to start from the top; like the way these theories have a single defining mystery, the course for concern, the very existence of this defining trait of human cultural discourse also has its own root explaining its great significance in out cultural mind set.

The word ‘conspiracy’ and to an extend its root ‘conspire’ has its etymology to the Latin compound word ‘Conspirare’ which is derived from the words ‘Con’ which means ‘Together With’ and ‘spirare’ which means ‘Breathe’. The literal translation of these two Latin Words meshed together means ‘to breath together’, but in more precise form to discuss together, or more importantly to agree together on a form of action, or in this case, plotting together.

Like the core meaning of the word plot, the basis of the conspiracy is that a group of people try to conspire with one another to execute a plan that may be benevolent or evil against a corrupt or just opposition in secret. While the civil, and criminal and political definition of this concept is posited as inherently negative in impact, it’s undeniable that without it the course of history would be very different.

 The revolutions of the world that brought upon great social change in democracies all started out as conspiracies, a pact among socially conscious men against their despots. Inversely there are also those who conspire for their own selfish needs and not care at best or nihilistically crave at worst, for chaos and suffering that might be endured by the volatile change incurred through conspiracies.  

Even the act of unmasking conspiracies would shake a society from its calm centre, uprooting long held beliefs and shaking the faith of the society on the stability of their surroundings. These things, weather it comes to fruition, thwarted or simplifying lingering in the social consciousness of the massed public, have an intrinsic impact on civilized society and how we as individuals see ourselves in the world as a whole.

Conspiracy theories are a form of investigative function into the hidden secrets and mysteries surrounding conspiracies; its true nature as a struggle for good or evil, it’s intricate cause and if it should be championed or stopped for the good of all. Detractors of course would point out by floating these theories around the consciousness of the people is detrimental, they view that it could engender the “Mean World Syndrome”, where the uncultured notion that the world is full of evil simply based on the understanding cultivated in them through others’ opinions and depiction of our world in the media.

History of course is written by the victors, and if it is our duty to expose any evil plot that may be behind a great disaster such as the disappearance of MH370, then we should do it calmly and collectively to ensure that the actual truths can be ingested safely by the public at large. Political scandals like ‘Watergate’ proves that sometimes it is better to seek out the truth for the good benefit of the public then let the conspiracy run rampant in the shadows.

References:

1. “Cultivation Theory by George Gerbner” ” in the book,  “A First Look at Communication Theory” by Em Grifin [McGraw-Hill, 2012]
2. Ku Seman Ku Hussein  (ARKIB : 06/04/2014).

“CIA dan teori konspirasi hilangnya MH370”. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Rencana/20140406/re_03/CIA-dan-teori-konspirasi-hilangnya-MH370

3. History of United States of America at Wikipedia.org,
1. Specifically the American Revolutionary War,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War

2. Specifically the American Civil War, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_war
3. Specifically the Watergate Scandal,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal

4. Meaning of Revolution at Wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution.
5. Meaning of Conspiracy in Civil, Crime, Political terms at Wikipedia.org,
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(civil)
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(criminal)
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracies_(political)
6. Meaning of Conspiracy at Wikipedia.org,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory

7. Meaning and etymology of Conspiracy and Conspire, though Google.com Search tools.

Gadget Dependency: Proliferation of the Global Village

Mediated communications has for the past century turn into the norm for almost everyone around the globe; specifically through digital telecommunications means, we have grown used to talking, writing into a device to convey our message to another person thousands of miles away using our mere voice and text.

It is simply the next step in Marshall McLuhan‘s theory of “Media Ecology’ through the proliferation of the Global Village. It is described as a penultimate gathering of consciousness, where vast distances would not hamper the collective discourse on socio-political and other academic issues by a connected global society, a veritable village of interdependency.

            As everyone felt connected through earlier oral teachings in villages during the early eras of civilization, the insemination of knowledge and philosophical thought during the era of books and newspapers after the invention of the printing press, as well as the rise of the visual stimulation and manipulation of perception and emotion through the creation of pictures, film and television, the internet is simply an extension of that evolution.

            An evolution of collective thought, one now made easier through gadgets like mobile devices. Thus it was inevitable that we delve deeper into the phenomenon to understand our why we feel the need to be connected to this Global Village; surveys on our usage of these devices are the same kinds of usage surveys done when the other previous mediums were introduced and still carried out today.

             Research such as the one highlighted in the New York Daily News, about our supposed surprising fast adaptation and apparent of this communicative medium, are all too common, with nary a single one showing how it compared to how we accepted a new medium previously.

Yes we slept with smartphones, but we’ve slept with books for hundreds of years before that and the broadcast media half a century ago. Other news such as the one depicting a youth killing his mother due to not supposedly not getting a smartphone, a rampant sensationalism to reach bottom line of mass media; to gain profit by attracting readers, just because neither of the previously mentioned article tried to delve deeper then the surface of their findings and simply slapped a one fits all explanation to them.

What was the motivation of the killing was there history that pushed the killer over the edge? What is the major motivation behind the need to be digitally connected to the Global Village through their Smartphone?  The unifying theory then is that both articles exhibited a need by marginalized individuals wanting to be heard and the best way is through being connected to a Global Village where they can achieve a sense of belonging to something and someone while lending their voice and opinions, giving them a sense of importance.

References

1. “Media Ecology by Marshal McLuhan” in the book,  “A First Look at Communication Theory” by Em Grifin [McGraw-Hill, 2012]
2. Meena Hart Duerson. (Thursday, August 16, 2012, 2:28 PM).

“We’re addicted to our phones: 84% worldwide say they couldn’t go a single day without their mobile device in their hand”. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/addicted-phones-84-worldwide-couldn-single-day-mobile-device-hand-article-1.1137811

3. Dennis Wong. (05 April 2014| last updated at 07:10PM).

“Mom murdered for smart phone”.

Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from http://www.nst.com.my/latest/mom-murdered-for-smart-phone-1.551338

TL: DR = Too Long: Didn’t Read

One of the dangers of writing for the web is that you are left to your own devices, enabling you as the creative master of the work to branch off and talk endlessly about an issue to death. Making it easy to loose sight of a main objective of writing any piece of reading; to enable others to find the information they are looking for, whether for simple entertainment or educational purposes.

Elaborations become too detailed, and you forget to let the readers explore certain key facets of the issue for themselves, swamping them with facts and figures that at times bewildering, especially those who are novices to its topic of discussion. This coupled with a language so complex and literary may inadvertently have a “Boomerang Effect”, ‘where attitudes change in the opposite direction of what the message advocates; audiences driven away rather then drawn to the idea’ as implied in the Social Judgment Theory by Muzafer Sherif (Em Griffin, 2012).

Ironically, pushing away the readers who might most benefit from reading such a discourse in how the internet, as a media or information gathering, shapes their daily lives. The online article titled; ”Artikel 3: BALKANISASI SIBER: GANGGUAN KEPADA SEMANGAT 1MALAYSIA” by blogger http://suaramurba.blogspot.com/ or Dr. Rahmat Ghazali, is too rigid and hard-fact based for audiences who are not used to the high academic level discourse that it presents to the public.

They would instead shy away and gravitate towards easier to understand articles relating to the issue, which probably would provide worst educational value to them at best and misinformation at worst. As painstakingly explained in the original article, the audience has an overwhelming power to pick and choose what they want to read, hear, feel and at the end of the day, the best way to change their wants and needs is to influence their perception to de-balkanize their world-view.

Thus then it is imperative to KISS(s); Keep It Short and Simpe (stupid), a fundamental concept in Journalism where keeping everything concise and simple allows for better initial appeal, understanding and hopefully a change in mind-set for its readers. At the end of the day, not everyone has the luxury to read pages after pages of academic discourse when they can get a summarized version, like this tidbit espoused by Dr Rahmat Ghazali ini his article;

References:

1. “A First Look at Communication Theory” by Em Grifin [McGraw-Hill, 2012]
2. “Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences” by David Croteau & Williams Hoynes & Stefania Milan [SAGE Publications, 2012]
3. Rahmat Ghazali.. (2011). Artikel 3: BALKANISASI SIBER: GANGGUAN KEPADA SEMANGAT 1MALAYSIA. Retrieved 29 April, 2014, from http://suaramurba.blogspot.com/2011/11/artikel-3-balkanisasi-siber-gangguan.html

Talking about our Socio-Political Landscape

The answer to the question of whether we should talk about our own socio-political landscape or leave it to the experts is a simple one: we damn hell should. The very backbone of democracy is the freedom of speech and we as the free citizens should exercise this obligation to society.

            With the proliferation of the internet and Blogging websites, it has never been easier then ever before for a concerned citizen to go online, post their views on issues plaguing the nation, and engender debates. The technology is cheap and simple with Blogspot.com and wordpress.org providing easy tools to learn and master in creating your web based articles.

Wordpress -  Welcome page.

                                               

            You aren’t cluttered down by bureaucratic gatekeeping procedures, or specified formats to convey ideas forwards, you are free to say as much of the truth you deem in the way you prefer it to be. You can even add in multimedia such as videos, pictures and even links to enhance your work, allowing for easier understanding and access for your readership.

                                           Blogger - Accout Setup

           

           This is particularly important when talking about social and political issues, since you now have the ability to go beyond balkanized traditional media house styles and get to the root of each problem. Presenting it in the most appealing and neutral way possible, you have more of a chance in finding acceptance of your views and facilitate change that traditional ways would allow.

            Since there is no ownership agenda-setting involved and is being done to get the core of the issue across in the hopes of a resolution instead of any financial gains, you are theoretically viewed as unbiased and a champion of the free citizenry. The basic core tenets of journalism finally realized in the digital age, where journalist aren’t simply the guard dog of the government through their media house owners but the watchdog of freedom, the fourth estate instead.

            While there are concerns regarding the Communications and Multimedia Act or CMA (1998), its regulator the Multimedia Communications and Multimedia Commission establish by an eponymous act in the same year, Sedition Act, and of course the dreaded Evidence Act, no writer should suffer any chilling effect if they stand by their principles as citizen Journalists.

            If these online crusaders follow the ethical guidelines and let conscience be their guide, there is nothing to fear but the fear of not doing enough to make the world a better place.

References:

1. Malaysian Federal Laws, et all.
2. “Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences” by David Croteau & Williams Hoynes & Stefania Milan [SAGE Publications, 2012]
3. Blogspot.com
4. Wordpress.org