Re: So Park, Movies trains & authenticity

Southpark, I resemble some of your remarks. Let me give you some directions to the lost locomotive the next time you are down....
20 some years ago I took a class in child developmental psycholgy or something like that. I remember an interesting assesment of how people can be pigeon holed. Something like 5% think indepently. This is not hard and fast as we all develope certain bias, and the propensity to jump to conclusion on pet issues I guess. The point is that the MAJORITY of people are about as you say and content to be so in a warm and fuzzy way. Those of us that are clearly independant thinkers have a blessing and a curse. We tend to reinvent the wheel with most issues that come before us and this can lead to a lot of sleepless nights and agonizing over things that the herd has an easy time with simply following past practice, accepted doctrine, the teachings of religious and political groups that they have chosen to accept. How is this related to NGRR's, well I guess simply as an answer to why there is a certain futility to the publication of facts and sound reasoning about issues that we all care about. Cynical as it seems, facts and sound reasoning seldom are more than lipservice type things that often have little to do with the arguments and conclusions that really determine the outcome of a situation. In conflict the group that can put the best spin on their side of the equation wins. So...if hokey trains in movies sell tickets in the boxoffice and at rentals at the video store, so be it.