knox gillespie

monolith thinking


The firestorm of reaction was fanned by contemporary media that gives the world access to the cell-phone-on-the-street viewpoint of such events. This level of reportage has little journalistic scruple since it is spread over the world on the internet. Enhancing the inflammatory nature of this kind of news programming, the constant flow of conflicting accounts out of independent sources merge in an unsettling confusion of opinions. In biblical times, the role of Adam in Paradise was to give names to the un-named. Today, lacking truth, humans satisfy the fundamental urge to name the un-named by forming an opinion. The oscillation of public opinion and the sensationalism of the on- the- spot imagery are twin forces that are counter to what could be reasoned action in the face of catastrophe. The social chaos that ensues from this combination blocks the development of true compassion for the plight of others. From this perspective, the plethora of unedited images and unfounded opinions is the true source of widespread anxiety.