As I get older (I’m 30 now), I like to think that I also become a little wiser with each year that passes by 
. Something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the need to always keep an open mind.
Look at people around you. Most people are obsessed with material goods and bombarded by marketing. We know that the media is biased e.g. some newspapers are left wing and others are right wing.
But have you ever gone deeper than that and wondered if we are being spoon fed a bunch of garbage? Is there a conspiracy?
I used to think that consipracy theorists were fools. The absurd conspiracy is often more entertaining than the boring truth – this is how I used to think.
But more and more now I realise that we are subject to as much propaganda in the west as those so-called undemocratic societies that we are supposed to pity.
The great thing about the internet is that we can now choose our media, choose our “information diet” as Tim Ferris likes to call it. You must choose carefully because no matter how hard you try to resist it, it will affect you on a subliminal level.
Let me give you a benign example. I have cable TV and I can access BBC News 24 and CNN. If I watch BBC, all I hear is doom and gloom about the economy. Heck, this isn’t 1929! If I switch over to CNN, despite the American economy also going through troubles – I see and hear mostly positive things.
This is one reason for the success of the United States in many areas. It is not solely due to its wealth. A large part of it is due to it’s “can do” attitude of its citizens who believe that they can achieve anything they put their mind to.
By comparison, the British almost love to lose! This is one reason why I intend to leave these shores within the next year and to experience other cultures and attitudes. I love my country but the general outlook of most people is very negative, in my humble opinion.