UNPLUG

Why is it that people doing the most amazing, transformative, mind-blowing things are virtually anonymous? Fame used to have a little meat and bones with it, a pinch of substance.

It was curated by major studios, it was skillfully marketed to create an aura around people who achieved feats that were extraordinary, displayed gifts and talents that were exceptional, rare and even awe-inspiring. It occupied a good portion of the narrow bandwidth in which the white hot light of " stardom" effusively showered its denizens.

Our insatiable ability to be distracted by a phalanx of supposed newsworthy stories ( what does that even mean anymore) is the nadir of our ADD culture. There were 189 trending "stories" on my Yahoo thread falling under 7 categories:
World news ( very broad)
Celebrity ( What is a Blac Chyna?) absolute national obsession with this category
Sports   da-da-dum, da-da-dum (ESPN theme)
Politics
Entertainment
Business
Style

We have dubiously fostered the notion of edutainment as erudition. We have become massive consumers of EVERYTHING connoting pop culture. We can talk at length about the minutia attached to the life of celebutantes, actors, athletes, rappers, singers, and the biggest reality star in this country- one Donald J Trump.

But those blurbs, snippets about business, science, politics, international affairs get scrolled on by. Here is the conundrum, the meat and potatoes, the gluten-free substance that has a material impact on your life is found in the subject matter that will NEVER be click-bait!

The people that are the financial guardians of your investments, pensions, authors of legislative policy and taxation, healthcare, employment projections, infrastructure and real estate are more likely to know what's going on in the Black China Sea than know or care who Blac Chyna is.

This national obsession with mind-numbing entertainment by substituting being well-versed in pop culture versus the germane topics that impact your life is not by accident or coincidental. A low-information population, Jay-Z made a million dollars in a few days on 4:44-adding nam penny to your net worth-is a panacea for plutocrats, kleptocrats and the ruling political class.

We don't desire the meat of cogent information. We continue to feast on the calorie dense, no substance pablum of edutainment while the things that matter most pass on by like the Macy's parade!

Unplug!