Anti War Voices

 

    The term war means " a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, and air." Everyone has heard of this word before. From the American Revolution, where the 13 colonies wanted independence from Great Britain, to Russo-Ukrainian War where Russia wanted to gain control over Ukraine for many different reasons. See, the word "war" is seen all over the world today, but do people talk about the term, "anti-war"? 

    Anti-war is when there is an opposition to war. The reason that anti-war is not being talked about is  other current issues like climate change, economic instability, politics, and much more are taking over and overthrowing the talk of anti-war. Governments often frame war as a necessity for security and protection which makes them see it was a justified answer to any type of problem. 

    Anti-war is a word that I never hear on the regular. The news and other forms of media present war as ongoing events. They present it as a way to protect America and the freedom we have, add security, and much more. Just recently I found out about two websites: Antiwar.com and The American Conservative. Each of these websites have strong writers who discuss the importance of going against military interventions or anything related to war. A lot of media these days want to stay on a certain side of a story or they don't want to cause heavy debates. Anti-war is just another discussion and argument that the news, blogs, and media don't want to have to deal with because war is happening all the time. It is hard for these types of websites to get attention because people don't talk about it. War is going to happen and it is current news, so why would they have to give arguments about anti-war?

    Well, I think it is extremely important to see both sides. Often people just look at one main stream of media and don't consider smaller sites and opposite opinions. These websites offer a place for people to find different opinions, but their small sources compared to major news sources suggests that antiwar views are either purposely or accidentally left out of mainstream media. That is why as people we need to gain as much information as we can to compare and contrast our ideas as well as get the main view points.

Spiral of Silence

 

  The Spiral of Silence explains how a person (or group) is less likely to voice an opinion when the majority thinks something else. People tend to keep silent when they feel left out, they feel as though their opinions aren't recognized, the fear of laughter or judgement, and when people can't take criticism. All everyone wants is to feel accepted into society and different groups. When someone from the majority speaks out their ideas confidently, the minority wants to back away and becomes silent/distant. But, the closer the ideas are to the majority, the closer the minority speaks out their opinions.

    The idea of spiral of silence was developed by German communication researcher Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann in the 1960's-1970's. Her experiences during the WWII and post-war era led to her to observe the power of the public opinion and the danger of not listening to all voices.

    Some negative effects are that social groups exclude members because of their views and opinions which then gain fear of isolation. Some positive effects could be the discouraging of extreme or unpopular opinions and viewpoints that might otherwise disrupt harmony within a group. It could encourage individuals to think about all the viewpoints and think critically. They could reconsider their stance if it is way off what the majority thinks.

    The spiral of silence has an effect as a whole on society. Lack of discussion can cause more divides and eventually lead to social polarization (division into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions). Governments, institutions, and companies may base their opinions on the majority views, potentially looking over important perspectives that weren't openly expressed. The needs of the minority need to be addressed.

    Some examples of spiral of silence could include climate change, The Civil Rights movement, The Great Depression, young/old, and female/male. 

    Climate change in some communities people who believe in the science of climate change remain silent in the public due to the overall climate skepticism within certain social or political groups.

     The Great Depression had many individuals face severe economic hardships and were reluctant to voice dissatisfaction with the government policies or banks. They feared losing any type of social stranding or jobs. 

    The Civil Rights movement had many individuals support racial equality that were hesitant to speak out against segregation laws and practices due to fear of violence or social exclusion. 

    Young people feel the pressure to conform to society and fit in. If their opinions are different, then they feel left out. This could lead to bullying, isolation, and social rejection. The younger generation on social media might get certain videos, photos, or viewpoints on their feed causing them to think a certain way.  Older people get disconnected from the world and younger generation because society is constantly changing and growing. This viewpoints are outdated, and the older generation stays silent. 

    Females in the past and even now have felt the pressure to conform to society and become a specific person that society makes out females to be. This could cause the spiral of silence where women hold back their opinions. If women are in a man mainly dominated workplace they could keep their views away from the workplace. Women don’t want certain labels on themselves. Males might feel the pressure to always feel confident and assertive which can prevent them from being vulnerable and expressive of  their opinions because of how society labels males. Males might go into a spiral of silence because they don’t want the repetition to be on the line.

    Other common issues today that use the spiral of silence include abortion, vaccines, social movements, and political views.

    Understanding this dynamic is crucial for caring for the environments where many different viewpoints can coexist without fear of isolation, conflict, and judgement.

Diffusion of Innovations: Cassette Tapes

 

    The Diffusion of Innovation Theory explains how new ideas, products, or innovations spread through a population over time. It suggests that people gain these innovations in different stages: starting with early adopters, moving to majority, and then finally to the late adopters. The cassette tapes spread because of the ability to have portable audio and music on the go. People realized that they could be creative and make all kinds of playlists, especially their own mixtapes.

    People became early adopters because they wanted something smaller and easier to carry. If they wanted to go out and about they could use it. In the car radio, boomboxes, telephone answering machines, and just to put on headphones for a walk outside. Many people want to listen to music, AM/FM radio, and so much more on something that is portable and easy access. The early adopters included people like music enthusiast who wanted to make music better and the tech-savvy people. These are the people that were trying out new technologies and saw the potential the cassette tape could bring to the public. The cassette tape blew up and became popular. It became a trend.

    The late adopters were unsure about the technology and didn't trust the durability of the cassette tape. They thought that their old technologies worked much better than a new updated version. A lot of people don't like change and the way the world is quickly advancing.

    Some people were not adopters at all because they were used to what was before and don't want to advance to a new technology. A lot of people were used to record players or vinyls or they couldn't afford the new cassette tape. 

    The cassette tape had downsides like the sound quality, durability was questionable, smaller storages, and much more, but overall the cassette tape advanced music and the way people listen to it.