The popularity of the United States presidential election is at an all time high. Sometimes I feel like I can’t escape it. I do live in Canada, right? But then, things were shaken up this year. Instead of the usual two boring old white guys, we have an African American man running for president, a woman ran for president, and now we have Sarah Palin, the gun toting Governor of Alaska. I'll keep my comments about candidates to myself; I don't want this to turn into a rant.
However, I will say that the days of sitting in a room listening to "seven hours of talk"(Postman 45) are certainly over. The election, now more than ever, is immersed in media - in visuals and in technology.
We can observe candidates’ clothing, their hairstyles, and their spouses. We can join Facebook groups to support our favourite candidate, wear clothing with their faces on it, or put bumper stickers on our cars. Even the candidates themselves are getting in on the act. I recently saw video of Barack Obama discussing the music he had on his iPod.
Still, it irks me that more people vote for American Idol than vote for the presidential elections. If that doesn’t define how media-obsessed our culture is, then what does? It seems that if we can't do something from the comfort of our couches, we simply won't do it.
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
New York: Penguin, 1986.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
We Are At War
Part of me feels totally unqualified to comment on war. After all, I’ve never been there, seen it, felt it, touched it - so who am I to comment?
It seems the media has sent some sort of numbing solution down my spine. I couldn’t tell you how many fictionalized death scenes I’ve seen on television and in movies. I mean, how weird is it that our movie ratings system deems a woman’s bare breast to be more volatile than a gruesome murder?
The truth is I’ve become so dreadfully desensitized that seeing footage of war on my television screen or a grim photograph in the newspaper has very little emotional impact. Sadly, I don’t think I’m alone here.
Perhaps Neil Postman said it best: "By itself, a photograph cannot deal with the unseen, the remote, the internal, the abstract." (Postman 72)
Therefore, how will we ever truly know war until we've been there?
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
New York: Penguin, 1986.
It seems the media has sent some sort of numbing solution down my spine. I couldn’t tell you how many fictionalized death scenes I’ve seen on television and in movies. I mean, how weird is it that our movie ratings system deems a woman’s bare breast to be more volatile than a gruesome murder?
The truth is I’ve become so dreadfully desensitized that seeing footage of war on my television screen or a grim photograph in the newspaper has very little emotional impact. Sadly, I don’t think I’m alone here.
Perhaps Neil Postman said it best: "By itself, a photograph cannot deal with the unseen, the remote, the internal, the abstract." (Postman 72)
Therefore, how will we ever truly know war until we've been there?
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
New York: Penguin, 1986.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Buy Nothing Day: Shop Less, Live More
The mere idea of a day dedicated to battling consumerism excites me. I've always considered myself to be quite a frugal person, annoyed by members of my family who complain about their massive debts while gazing into their 60 inch televisions.
Sadly, we live in a truly "stuff" obsessed culture, where we define ourselves by what we own rather than by who we are. It seems we’ve lost sight of the difference between a "need" and a "want". Do we really need 400 television channels, or that new pair of Nike runners? Not really…but we sure as hell want them!
I’ve always been amazed that in our culture it’s absolutely normal to spend money we don’t physically have - to just “throw it on the credit card.” Our thirst for instant gratification has somehow overpowered our conscience, along with our ability to tell ourselves “NO!”
My hope is that “Buy Nothing Day” will somehow quench this absurd thirst, revive our conscience, and WAKE US UP (if only for 24 hours), because at the end of the day our lives will not be measured in our DVD’s, designer clothing, or automobiles, but in our knowledge, triumphs, and accomplishments.
How would you like to be remembered?
As a “…loving father and husband…”
Or as the “…owner of the sweetest flat screen ever…”
"Shop Less - Live More." 4 Oct 2008. <http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/>.
Sadly, we live in a truly "stuff" obsessed culture, where we define ourselves by what we own rather than by who we are. It seems we’ve lost sight of the difference between a "need" and a "want". Do we really need 400 television channels, or that new pair of Nike runners? Not really…but we sure as hell want them!
I’ve always been amazed that in our culture it’s absolutely normal to spend money we don’t physically have - to just “throw it on the credit card.” Our thirst for instant gratification has somehow overpowered our conscience, along with our ability to tell ourselves “NO!”
My hope is that “Buy Nothing Day” will somehow quench this absurd thirst, revive our conscience, and WAKE US UP (if only for 24 hours), because at the end of the day our lives will not be measured in our DVD’s, designer clothing, or automobiles, but in our knowledge, triumphs, and accomplishments.
How would you like to be remembered?
As a “…loving father and husband…”
Or as the “…owner of the sweetest flat screen ever…”
"Shop Less - Live More." 4 Oct 2008
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