The Concept of Views

I sat and watched a 1999 interview with David Bowie.  I admit....I just never had much of an impression over his music (but I can say the same over rap, techno, the Bee Gees, the Bieber kid, and ninety-percent of Lady Gaga's stuff).

It's a curious interview where Bowie actually did display his intellect and wit.  So, the journalist came to this question about if perceptions or open views of society have really taken off.

In a brief two-minute discussion....Bowie opens upon on the idea that society in general (Europe and the US) stepped up to the 1970s with most people thinking along one single theme.  Something clicks in the 1970s, and from that point on.....there are different perceptions and different views.  We are for the most part....a multi-perception society from that point on.

One problem....ten different views?  Yeah.  It's a curious change which I would tend to agree with.

In fact, we are at a point where certain elements of society really don't want to hear ten views....they want one single view of a problem or simply to say there is no problem....thus there's no need for nine other and colliding views.

This dysfunction of society now has a certain group of people who are Fox-News-enthusiasts and they'd like to only get their news and perception from their people.  On the other side, there are the opposite crowd who only want their news from one source (CNN or the New York Times) and they desire to have only one single perception from their source.

The same issue works well in Germany with the do-gooder crowd or the gutmensch folks who will only view state-run news, and the Pegida crowd who have their version to view.

Bowie sums it up at one point in the interview.....about 9:40 into the conversation....about a new world viewing "duality" of subjects now.  The hinge of this duality?  The internet.  It was a brilliant summary of sorts.....where Bowie draws upon the beginning stages of the internet in 1999 (17 years ago).  Fragmentation....where you have to examine various 'truths' and eventually come to a centralized position that isn't a party-driven strategy, a populist one-sided view, or some long-winded news media position without concrete.

The sad part of this story?  You really need open dialog, free and open forums, and continued debate.  That's something that bothers a number of people.