Comments on Bahá’í Thought: Too Much Information

Nice blog

2009-10-10T18:27:07.591-03:00

Nice blog

Nadine thanks for weighing in from Poland. It will...

2009-10-07T10:14:47.840-03:00

Nadine thanks for weighing in from Poland. It will be interesting to see what we learn as the psychological, social and spiritual implications of the information age are explored scientifically in the future. We may be surprised what we find out, good and bad.

Hi Phillipe, I certainly agree with you on that o...

2009-10-07T10:10:33.047-03:00

Hi Phillipe,

I certainly agree with you on that one and I tend to believe that we are actually not a minority. I think most people would agree, they just have not thought about it yet.

We lose our sense for meaningful conversations and news due to this ever growing pool of gossip, which becomes more and more normal as media allows for distance. If I "confess" online I don't see the reader, I might not know the reader and I might never know who has actually read it - but I got it off my soul. To free the soul from any kind of burden (elsewhere than with a priest who knows you and your family) becomes increasingly important to people I find. Not only in order to do what everybody else already does, but also because with all the gossip thrown onto us, we need an outlet ourselves.

To me this is the dark side (one of them) of our media (www.)-age. We forget more and more and faster than ever before what is really important in life. The heart to heart connection gets lost and with it our sense for humility, respect and detachment.

Anonymous, I hear what you're saying, but I'm actu...

2009-10-07T05:12:05.951-03:00

Anonymous, I hear what you're saying, but I'm actually trying to shift the conversation from Letterman to the rest of us. If people's private lives were not constantly turned into a media circus the threat of blackmail wouldn't be much of a threat. Imagine a world where the blackmailer's efforts would have been met with a collective yawn from both the media and the public, where we all said, you know what, it's none of our business? My point is that right now such a world is not imaginable for most of us because the notion that anything is none of our business is eroding steadily.

Miguel, as a current Baha'i of 12 years I can tell you that I am still a "student" of the Baha'i Faith. There's no graduation date. Oh and welcome to the blog.

Hello, As a former 25 year mormon and now student...

2009-10-07T03:04:16.344-03:00

Hello,

As a former 25 year mormon and now student of the Baha'i Faith, I have to admit that I totally agree with you.

I agree, there's often way "too much information" ...

2009-10-06T23:23:19.590-03:00

I agree, there's often way "too much information" nowadays. And what passes for "celebrity" in America now is often lamentable. We just need to ignore the garbage, for the most part, if we're fortunate enough to be aware that we were all created noble.

But in this case, Letterman only did what he had to do after attempted blackmail -- there was no way he could have gone without addressing it publicly in some way, as it was going to be all over the news anyway -- and IMHO he's handling the regrettable situation beautifully. You won't see him being interviewed about it. In his own way, he is trying to take the high road now. He has said, among other things that "he has his work cut out for him" insofar as trying to heal his relationship with his wife. He knows there's no excuse for what he's done, but he can't change the past, so he's trying to be honorable, responsible, and, dare I say, virtuous, going forward. Isn't that pretty much what Baha'is would do?