really?!?

so i am watching CNN this morning and on the crawl i read this, and i quote, "cell phone rings amuse, annoy some."

really?!? these are the up-to-the-minute news details that the world needs to know?

this is like posting "socks with sandals deemed by most 'not a good look'" or "many choose not to wear flip flops in the rain because it may cause foot wetness" or "study of junior high aged males shows many find fart sounds comical" or "nation-wide poll reveals some enjoy coffee, others choose tea" or "another baseball player found using steroids" or "many believe our last president is a big dumb-ass" or "study reveals the endless war in Iraq actually claiming the lives of young people on both sides who displayed a great deal of potential and could change the world."

is this what has become news? are we so ill-informed that we don't actually know these things? or have we become so apathetic that we just don't care about what scrolls along the bottom of the programs produced by those who have devoted themselves to reporting the most current news-worthy items to the world?

a month or so ago, a report came out of austin that someone had hacked into one of those signs that dot the major highways around texas and made it read, “The end is near! Caution! Zombies ahead! Run for cold climate!” i wonder how many cars drove by it completely unaware of what it said and how many people actually read it and kept driving? is this a further sign of the apathy with which we handle information or is it a further sign of the impending idiocracy?

Comments

Jason said…
First off I am impressed you were able to develop so many headlines. I have been sitting here thinking for a bit and I am out.
Secondly, I have never read it but your reflection reminds me of a book "Anti-intellectualism in America".
Finally, I am not the smartest person on the globe, nor do I pretend to know it all (well sometimes my ego pushes me in that direction and I can act like an ass), however it is becoming very apparent to me that Marx was right. When people are busy trying to make a living (or repaying massive debt, or trying to keep up with the 'Jones's, or keeping up facades, etc.) they are unable to think deeply and/or reflect.
The revolution of the neo-monastics in many ways can be akin to the revolution of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie, in that neo- monastics are calling for a freedom from the perceived demands of society on individuals. If people were not tied to debt, the myth of money, and self fulfillment, perhaps we would all be able to be more open to the news and current events so that we may avoid the current idiocracy we find ourselves in.

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