Recently spotted on Facebarf: a stunning and brave intellectual criticising Elon Musk.
Now, they weren’t criticising him for his reckless attitudes on artificial intelligence.
Or the health risks, privacy concerns or existential risk of NeuraLink.
Or the dangers of one man dominating so many unrelated industries.
They didn’t even comment on his needlessly combative attitude.
(Disclosure: I’m an Elon fan. But there’s only one Man who’s above criticism – our Lord and Saviour. If Elon turns out to be the Second Coming of Christ, I’ll withdraw the above remarks. Somehow, I doubt I’ll have to.)
Where was I…?
Oh, right.
No, this fine thinker shared this rusty nugget of wisdom:
“Elon’s fanboys all say he’s saving the world. But when you ask them exactly how, they can’t answer you.”
Can you spot the lie?
It should be bleedingly obvious.
Here’s a hint: I bet you a thousand bucks they never asked any Elon fans that question. If they had, they would have gotten a dozen answers back in the first breath.
I mean, is the stereotypical Elon fan someone who’d hold back from talking about how great he is? Someone who’d hold their tongue at a chance like this?
Really?
No, they’d talk about how all his businesses align with saving civilisation – from protecting the environment to defending free speech to helping humans keep up with AI to getting us off this lonely, vulnerable rock and into space. That’s his mission. That’s why he lives so modestly for someone with his net worth, pouring most of his wealth back into his projects.
You’d struggle to shut them up once they got started.
Even if you disagree with every point they make, you can’t miss them making it. To think they can’t back up their faith in him with specifics isn’t merely wrong – it’s also bizarre.
So why did this sophisticated critic say Elon fanboys can’t tell you how he’s saving the world?
I can’t read minds, so I don’t know.
But I can guess. One thing I’ve noticed, especially on media, is folks regurgitating memes in place of thinking.
My outgroup believes a thing deeply – but when you ask them for details, they can’t give any. That used to be an accusation. Now, it’s a generic insult. Is there a group you don’t like? Just say that about them! It doesn’t even need to make sense! Don’t choke on the irony of accusing them of not thinking their beliefs through while flinging this line around – irony is for thinkers!
Another classic: I’m not drunk enough to follow your logic here. The first person to say that was clever. It’s a surprising turn of phrase and quite cutting, too. Now, though, it’s so played out that it doesn’t mean that anymore. Use that line to tell people you don’t understand what someone else is saying… but also you regurgitate what you hear unthinkingly and you don’t know how alcohol works. But the gap in understanding is definitely on their end.
There’s no time to think on social media. All you have time for is expressing your outrage and moving on. Faster, faster! More folks’re wrong on the internet! They need to know you disagree! Throw a meme their way and move on!
It’s such a waste. That’s the worst part of it all. All these folks just screaming into the void, eroding their own understanding and mental health, all to enrich evil corporations that are wicked even by evil corporation standards. It could easily be a force for good and still profitable, but, hey, why support civilisation when you can erode it, right?
If that’s how social media is now, then let it be. Let woke folk scream clichés at every hallucinated slight. That’s what they’re good at. Us normal folks should just leave them to it. Their echo chambers will consume themselves soon enough. No one stays pure in their eyes forever.
If you have to respond, respond with grace, virtue and – above all – original thought. You’re made for more than being a glitchy, twitchy receptacle for targeted advertising and psychological experiments.
You probably have a sense of that – an awareness that life is (or at least should be) more that getting mad at bots and mentally ill strangers.
In fact, life could be quite glorious if you let it.
What would a glorious life look like? I’m sure you can easily answer what a good life is like – constantly feeling a warm tingle in your chest, nourished by the gentle glow of energy that comes from enjoying meaningful work, great friends and love.
But what does glory mean to you?
What would it take for you to amaze yourself?
Maybe you have an inkling about that.
Maybe you can feel the pride and purpose inflating your chest, even if you’re not sure how to live a glorious life.
I don’t know.
That’s something we can discuss, though.
I’m a fan of helping folks find or create that special, magic something – that feeling that this is what God plonked you into the world for.
There’s no feeling quite like it.
And it’s just a small part of what’s including in my Christian conditioning program. If you think life coaching, you’re in the right area. If you think revolutionary ways the Christian faith can help you focus, kick arse, beat sin and triumph in glory, then you’re closer.
See the full extent at my link below.
It’s not for everyone. But if it’s for you, then there’s nothing else like it.
https://christianhypnotism.com/christian-conditioning/
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