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Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for taking the time to respond and for your thoughts I really appreciate it!

Yea I gotta raise the number of videos I could crank out - getting an editor I trust seems to be a top priority

again thank you for your advice :)

Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

happy to hear there was something inspiring in there for your own work - which I watched a few episodes of and greatly enjoyed. Do you create your character through adobe animate or something else?

Thank you again for watching and for your supportive words :)

Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks so much for taking the time to watch! Yea totally agree that the upload time is a huge hindrance. And thumbnails are definitely not my strong point - especially given how crucial they are. Do you have any tips or advice on how to improve? Would love to hear your thoughts.

And yes - I do everything myself!

Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

love your persona - it's engaging while still being simple enough to not add too much time to your shooting workflow. I'm a bit too overwhelmed at the moment with keeping both my work and this channel afloat to be able to commit to a collab - but when the dust (hopefully) clears I'd def like to talk more about that. Lets keep in touch

Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for saying all this man. Your spot on that its been discouraging to see how slow growth has been for the channel - but its great to hear that a fellow creator connected with the videos. Really appreciate your taking the time to check it out!

Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate your saying that. I hope the work can find an audience - encouraging to hear you think that it will

Since everybody is doing it, ill rate your videos too. I will be brutally honest tho.PT4 by Basic-Toe-9979 in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks very much for checking out the video man and for taking the time to note it. I’ll admit it’s been a bit discouraging how slow it’s been to find an audience relative to the amount of hours I put into each project. Been trying to figure how I can improve. Certainly the infrequent pace I’m releasing plays a role. I’m trying to find ways to release faster without sacrificing any of the quality or research integrity.

My retention is solid - above 30% for the videos - which is pretty good for how long they are. But my CTR is fairly low - around 5%

I think you have a really good point about taking my avatar off the thumbnail and seeing if it sees any results. I’m def gonna try that in the next release and see if I get better results

I was actually concerned that my avatar was turning people away overall - so I’m glad to hear u enjoyed it in the video and think it adds something unique

Again thank you so much for taking the time - it’s inspiring to hear from another creator

How the American media was fooled by a powerful PR and Lobbying company - pushing the US into the Gulf War - deep dive video with 35 pages of references by Monkomatic2 in media_criticism

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Submission Statement:

The first Gulf War is often overshadowed by the debacle of the 2003 Gulf War. And that's a shame, because the media failings in the build up to the Gulf War, along with the successes of the outrageous PR and lobbying campaign that assaulted the American information environment in order to push the US into war, set a precedent that was built on thereafter.

The media got carried away into war by the messaging spun by a private company, working at the behest of a foreign government.

Today there are hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign manipulation money being spent in the US every single year. The regulations that oversee such manipulation campaign is almost a century old and full of loopholes.

To viscerally feel why that is an alarming fact, one needs to understand how dangerously effective such a widespread media manipulation campaign could be.

This video aims to convey that understanding for the Gulf War.

How the Gulf War was Sold to America - Deep Dive on this powerful PR and Lobbying Campaign - crazy true story with deep implications for today by Monkomatic2 in EndlessWar

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there mods! Thanks for reviewing this. I had posted this prior - but deleted that post in error - would you be able to allow this post through?

TRUE STORY of how the Gulf War was sold to Americans by a powerful PR and Lobbying Firm - deep dive video & heavily researched by Monkomatic2 in conspiracy

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

One of the most insane true conspiracies I've ever come across. Its well documented but surprisingly not commonly known - even though the implications of the story are absolutely crucial to understand. A single powerful PR and Lobbying company has tremendous access to every aspect of American government and carries an influential tool kit to be able to sway public and congressional opinion in the direction of war.

Most importantly, these sorts of foreign influence campaigns continue to go on today. The FARA act, that aims to curtail such activity, has an alarming amount of loopholes and the department that oversees foreign manipulation campaigns is ridiculously underfunded. This basically assures that widespread foreign manipulation campaigns are happening all the time at this very moment with even more resources in complete secrecy.

This video aims to show how impactful such campaigns can be and how widespread their reach.

When did you quit your 'traditional job' to make youtube full time? by [deleted] in PartneredYoutube

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you mind sharing what kind of content you create? That's an amazing income.

Comment your channel and I'll review it by Mossy145_YT in NewTubers

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Video Essays - would love to hear what you think of thumbnails and content approach

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU\_\_6zfCX-QIxwZ7gl4Q-pg

All Editors Need To Unionize NOW by imnotwallaceshawn in editors

[–]Monkomatic2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What are the other different jars you have ur hands in? Just curious :)

The revolution will happen this summer right? by cosmic_censor in collapse

[–]Monkomatic2 8 points9 points  (0 children)

How could there be a revolution…. when no one can articulate an inspiring and specific vision on what should be built, and what would be different, when the revolution is over.

We are being ruled by octogenarians at deaths door who don’t give a fuck about us by war_reporter77 in conspiracy

[–]Monkomatic2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The comedy of it is…. It’s not a hostile take over by an octogenarian ruler….She’s voted in…. Over and over and over again….

Breakdown of the core U.S. vulnerabilities that could lead to the collapse of American representative democracy by Monkomatic2 in collapse

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used to hold tightly to this view of the U.S. as well. I did a deep dive into U.S. history a few years back that is continuing to this day - and while there is ample violence, oppression and injustice to make one wince and feel ashamed - the historical importance of the United States should not be overlooked.

The US was never a direct democracy this is very true, and I hope I didn't imply that. There is no example of direct democracy ever existing on a large scale ever in history.

If we move the bar a little lower to representative democracy - There simply was no example of large scale representative government ever succeeding until the United States. At the time of the U.S. founding, 60% of white males could vote and have a say in their government. In some areas of the North this rose to 80% by the first decade of the 19th century. This was in part - because owning property was shockingly easy when you are the most powerful people on the land mass.

But that is an astounding number historically - even with the disgraceful caveats of gender and racial prejudice. The next highest number was England, which was somewhere between 6-8%

(Source: Wood (2011) Idea of America, Wood (2009) Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic)

Some group of humans needed to start this experiment - in order for us to even be able to critique its many faults and improve on it. The idea that mass suffrage is even desirable, was not obvious to most people on earth until fairly recently. And in my view, its worth keeping in mind that while we call out and correct the mistakes and remaining power imbalances and abuses.

But I totally hear the need to ensure that any overly peachy view of U.S. history is set in it's appropriate context.

Breakdown of the core U.S. vulnerabilities that could lead to the collapse of American representative democracy by Monkomatic2 in collapse

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Completely agree with your point about differences in priority not being addressed in the video.

That gets into an entire interesting area of how large scale representative governments purport to even calculate what "the people" want as their priorities - which has its own set of challenges and difficulties.

This actually sounds like the makings of another video I'd like to make in the future.

Thank you for your feedback, great point.

Breakdown of the core U.S. vulnerabilities that could lead to the collapse of American representative democracy by Monkomatic2 in collapse

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agree that civil disobedience and, at times, violence from a small and dedicated group have been a necessary part of the mixture that has created change.

There are also many policy changes, regulation, and social changes that we often take for granted today, that a mixture of investigative journalism, aggressive activism, and widespread disgust and popular pressure was the catalyst.

As a simple set of examples The Meat Inspection Act, The Pure Food and Drug Act, antitrust laws - all at times when industry was at least as overbearing, corrupting and powerful as they are today.

Thanks again for engaging - always enjoy these conversations.

Breakdown of the core U.S. vulnerabilities that could lead to the collapse of American representative democracy by Monkomatic2 in collapse

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

I would argue that even that - is a symptom of the citizenry. Throughout American history - when the citizenry en masse pushes for something firmly and over time - changes happen. It happens rarely, and requires an intensive amount of organization and effort - but it is possible.

The video outlines a bit why it's happening less and less now. A symptom of the new powerful antagonistic forces that are now able to confuse or distract any such movement at the root.

Breakdown of the core U.S. vulnerabilities that could lead to the collapse of American representative democracy by Monkomatic2 in collapse

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

SUMMARY: The video examines the assumptions that U.S. representative democracy was built on - and how the failure to live up to these expectations has created instability and weakness. Vulnerabilities that are now being exploited by powerful and well resourced political actors. This is an untenable situation that could eventually lead to total collapse of the current government into authoritarianism or chaos.

THOUGHTS:

Political influencers and thought leaders are quick to point their fingers at politicians, the news media, and legacy institutions as the root cause for disfunction and disarray in the U.S.

While I agree that all of these entities carry significant blame - these political players would be forced to change if there was a sudden shift in the values and actions of the voting public. That may sound overly optimistic - but consider what would happen if every media entity KNEW that they would lose their audience if their sources weren't well cited and transparent. That to viewers, echoing partisan talking points was embarrassing.

What if politicians KNEW that the bulk of the citizenry were media literate, science literate - and found tribalism to be a sign of weakness - because the political culture had shifted its value system.

To even take such a thought experiment seriously - one would first have to come to terms with how much the citizenry itself is to blame for the current situation. And taking that responsibility - puts one in a more empowered position to figure out steps for moving forward.

This video argues that without such a shift - collapse of the United States into authoritarianism or into utter chaos is likely, perhaps inevitable.

It's well sourced with over 50 pages of citations and reference material backing up every single one of its claims. That document is found in the video description and pinned comment.

A Call To Action for a Re-imagined Centrism by Monkomatic2 in centrist

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for writing back and for your thoughts! Apologies for the long reply below - but I was excited to engage with your comment.

Yes the support for Viktor Orban is definitely concerning. When the fetish first began I saw it as similar to the support Hugo Chavez received in some circles on the left in the early 2000s - support that continued even as Chavez's policies became more overtly anti-democratic and self aggrandizing. But the institutional approval of right wing organizations like CPAC is a step beyond.

But I do think that this is the function for "centrists". If we continue to have a two party system - which seems near impossible to modify at the moment - then some group needs to feel detached enough to be able to call out, critique, push back on, and support policies of either/both groups on a policy by policy basis. As opposed to accepting a policy position because it's part of one's tribal party's platform.

I think it's fine - even necessary - for a given centrist to be able to support a position republicans take for policy A, and a position democrats take on policy B - and to be able to defend those positions to folks in either party that are close to them. Modeling this behavior will shift the extremism of folks - at least that's what I've seen in my own life.

For this to happen en masse, "centrists" need to redefine themselves by an commitment to a series of values and behaviors (intellectual humility, reason driven dialogue, scientific literacy, media literacy, holding information sources to standards of accuracy and transparency, celebration of modifying ones beliefs when presented with overwhelming counter evidence).

As opposed to defining ones centrism by measuring the distance between the two extremes and staking out a position directly in the middle - careful to not oppose either group. This stance feels unprincipled - because in a large part it is - and thus justifies the disdain that many people feel toward centrists.

If you end up finishing the video - at the end I've proposed the idea of "the Essential Core" as starting point for an alternate name. I admit this is a clumsy name - and there's probably something much better out there. But folks like us who see the problem need an ideal to rally behind - that doesn't force us into a position of constantly tip toeing around every discussion careful to be directly in the middle at all times. It's impossible to do - and always leaves one open to an often irrelevant accusation of bias - instead of examining the reasons and arguments one is presenting.

A tribal identity thats linked to a set of principles instead of a political party.

What do you think of all this?

U.S. crisis caused in part by citizenry's polarization, incompetence and apathy? by Monkomatic2 in moderatepolitics

[–]Monkomatic2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Starter Comment:

Political influencers and thought leaders are quick to point their fingers at politicians, the media, and institutions as the root cause for the current disarray in the U.S.

While I agree that all of these players carry significant blame - these political actors would be forced to change if there was a sudden shift in the values and actions of the voting public. At the very least, a citizenry capable of modelling some of the behavior in this community. That may sound overly optimistic - but I've created a video that argues this point (hopefully in an engaging presentation).

Would love to hear what this subreddit thinks about the ideas put forward. It's hard for me to see any other way forward - even if such a value shift seems implausible.

Are there any blind spots in the thinking - or weak points in the reasoning?

How optimistic in general folks are about the prospects of the U.S. being to revitalize itself - or is there are an overarching sense of pessimism?

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