The Noise of an Open Society

In the past nation’s rulers were taking decisions based on their group interests. Full stop. The people were fat attached to state affairs. And they could weighted an important matter with their mass. At the same time they could be sliced from the deal or grilled away.

Accountability changed that habit and now politicians have to respond to the citizens, “their bosses”. Have you already start to laugh? Of course, in time it changed the way the fat is attached to state of affairs. Not being fat itself. And nowadays decisions always prefer to go lean.

Why do we suspect a thing like this? Quite simply: we’ve been told. Cruel decision about cutting the fat people are in state affairs is something that is noticed to us. We live in an open society. They tell us: we are going to cut you and grill you. We are outraged. And something else happens. And we are cut and grilled.

In Chinese political philosophy there is the concept of “heaven’s mandate”: the people rules, rulers need to comply with people’s sentiment. Of course it is a very loose, Hegelian, concept. 

Rulers don’t ask politely. They gamble (they are Chinese rulers at the end of the day) and if they lose the heaven’s mandate, they are kicked out from the throne. Rulers of course manipulate and doctor facts. But first: human reality is created and twisted. In Western neo-liberal society, when they cut you and grill you( but more often when they cut and grill others with your consent), they give you notice.

So many notices. It is an epistemological waterboarding of information. The impossibility to have proper access to the supply chain of decisions. But not far away enough to claim innocence. They invade and oppress others. But they tell you why and how. More or less. Changing few details. Crucial. The perversion of open societies is that after few years you are noticed also the few details. Kind of. We are kept in the flux of information. Enough to flow. Just enough. Blockage of information is suspicious. 

The flow is everything. A lot of flow. Massive. Treaties and wars, currency and nukes. And they tell you. You retain the mandate. In the noise. You can read the lips, almost and they ask your consent to bomb schools and hospitals. You say no and they do it. You say it is impossible, you investigate, you appeal. 

And facts are coming. An overwhelming wave of facts and information. And it is true and not difficult to verify that, yes, schools and hospitals have been bombed. And yes it wasn’t exactly to promote human rights and principles of civilization. Maybe it was more to exert hegemony. But now you know. And what do you do? Do you stay or do you flow? How to decide in the noise? Especially since in the noise, your decision as well is just another meaningless rhyme. 
In the noise conscience is a conspiracy. Will you block or flow? 
You don’t have much time, because in the rapid flow, today’s decision, is tomorrow bad memory. 
Nobody likes history. Nobody likes to remember. 

The flow can work only in the present. You need to know now. In the noise. 

Read the lips and take part in your uselessness. It looks like a civic bad dream. 
And we are lucid awake. 
It is called an open society.