November 5, 2012         John W    John W's previous articles

The dumbing down of society - further thoughts

Previously I've tried to reflect on the dumbing down of society
in this article and this one

A few more reflections:

It's now more and more common, in any group of people - a family gathering, a few friends getting together, even a group of
priests/religious - that people observe an unspoken law: don't discuss anything serious. Stick to topics like food, travel, sport, entertainment etc

There used to be a saying "don't discuss politics or religion", but now the custom is "don't discuss anything heavy. Stay with light matter"

In this we are following the example of the media, which increasingly offers more and more local and light matter topics, with less and less coverage of world or serious issues...apart from sensational stories and really big topics like the US elections or hurricane Sandy

And in gatherings of family, friends etc, there is often/usually an "enforcer" of the above "Stay Light" rule: someone who makes sure the conversation doesn't stray from light topics. If anyone tries to mention a non-light topic, the enforcer will quickly cut short such a digression and get the conversation back on the light track

Enforcers may be doing this out of nervousness: they are not comfortable talking about non-light topics.  Maybe some enforcers are control-freaks: only they may control a conversation

Enforcers are often found at meetings...even Synods!... making sure people stay on theoretical or light topics and don't get down to practicalities or serious issues.  Such a practice is a way of denying and avoiding problems

Whatever the motivation or reason of such enforcers, the result is the same. Other people soon get the message: stay light. Anyone who still tries to broach a non-light topic is made to feel stupid, out of place

Not that every gathering should be a symposium of heavy stuff.
Not that there's no place and time for healthy light stuff with plenty of humour.

And a notable exception I've found: Evangelical friends are not affected by the above virus. 

Anyone like to share some thoughts on this?
Please use comment box below.

See also:

The dumbing down of society

And many articles at www.google.com for "dumbing down of education" and "dumbing down of Christians"