We know that print was financially unhealthy. The Internet has been killing off newspapers. Books are resisting the onslaught. We grew up in a world that accepted reporters, writers and editors were choosing what we could see. If you wanted a broader perspective, you subscribed for a second newspaper or watched several television channels. The Internet has turned every person with a phone into a reporter, turning media into interpreters. Now the channels get their news from the Internet.
In place of trusted media and their experienced reporters, influencers attract immense audiences inevitably relying on intense emotion. Moderation loses you audience. Those who most effectively stoke emotion attract the largest audiences they can monetize. The line between responsible and effective becomes unclear. Negative emotions, resentments, prejudice win audiences. We all lose because of this.
The Internet has become our enemy. Please limit your access to it.
Reading has become a forgotten skill. Choose a few books from your shelves. When you read, preferably in the long form (books), the crap and nonsense lose its urgency.
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Reaffirms the US Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty in US History. $50,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. Weeks After Victory at Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin Promises Repayment of a French Loan that Funded the American Revolution. $200,000 – 300,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. Rare First Edition of the Foundational Text of the Mormon Church. $100,000 – 150,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Sends the First Major Law Passed by Congress, the Tariff Act of 1789. $100,000 – 150,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. A Scarce Example of Audubon's Depiction of a Brown Pelican, Plate CCLI from his Birds of America. $30,000 – 50,000.
Freeman’s, August 20. The Official and First Obtainable Broadside Printing of the Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation. $30,000 – 50,000.
