[MD] Where have all the values gone?

[Arlo J. Bensinger]

[Erin]
All I meant by that was that it was lower quality...and yes that would degrade
it in my opinion.  Second the lopsideness before was that it was too much
private sphere activity and now the lopsideness is about intimate conversation
which would be further evidence that is degrading the conversations.

[Arlo]
I'm sorry you see "chit chat" as lower quality than "intimate" conversation.
It's not. And yes, my initial concern was the lopsidedness of the
public-private modes of engagement. That does not mean this is the sole
lopsidedness in modern culture.

[Erin previously]
Yes agree, the castle of solitude isn't so haunting. 

[Arlo]
When one never leaves, the castle becomes a self-imposed prison. Again,  those
"moral pilgrims" of Platt's certainly had homes (castles of  private-space
solitude), but they did not flood the moats, raise the drawbridge and lock
themselves within.

[Erin]
alrighty I guess your talking to your imaginary audience again...won't bother to
answer to that

[Arlo]
I'm not sure how my point above (that privacy is good until it becomes a
self-imposed prison) is missed, or directed towards an "imaginary audience". 

Erin, I've ignored your condescending remarks to date, assuming you must be
simply a very angry person. I realize, too, that the identity you present on
the forum is of the emotionally driven and anti-intellectual Lila to the
smokestack intellectuals, and I do see value in that, really. So, I'll cede.
You win. You shot me down. Lila 1, Smokestack 0.

[Arlo previously]
Notice how Platt had been increasinly reluctant in a previous thread to 
even consider that our culture should promote anything other than "wealth"  as a
motivator of activity. 
 
[Erin]
Nothing but wealth really?? Never got that.  Was that really Platt or your
imaginary audience again?

[Arlo]
In Platt's most recent post he says, "Without profits there's little incentive
to produce." While "little" certainly does not mean "nothing other than", if
you re-read the thread where Platt and I discussed this, you'll see he is quite
adamant about "profit" being the only real motivator. But why bother? Being a
contrarian to any real dialogue is much easier than actually trying to
formulate coherent thoughts. Lila 2, Smokestack 0.

Arlo