I am somewhat mystified by the attention paid in this future world of 2013 to all types of people, worthy or not. On some occasions, a well-timed note about someone, on what you call “Twitter,” can lead to thousands of people around the world seeing your “tweet.”
Other times, the well-deserving individual who may have contributed greatly to society’s betterment is unheralded, unappreciated, and unknown. In my day, in the 1700s, it would be similar to publicizing the rather ordinary exploits of Thomas Jefferson’s housekeeper, while ignoring the many noble accomplishments of Mr. Jefferson himself.
I suppose that this whole phenomenon known as “reality TV” may be partly to blame. As with the newspapers of my day, a certain publisher becomes convinced that his readers would be well-served by printing all the gossip, half-truths, and bald lies that he can fabricate, just for the sake of selling more newspapers. So too with reality TV.
On the other hand, nothing happens in isolation, and in a situation such as this, there are most certainly two parties who play a role in the deed – the publisher who perpetuates the dreadful, disgraceful misinformation being presented as “journalism,” and the readers who clamor for more of the same.
Which brings me to my principal question of the day: Who are the Kardashians, and why do so many people obsess over their every move? Why does the United States, as a society, devote far more ink and more broadcast time to this media-manipulated family than, for example, the collective good deeds of charitable organizations, the advances and breakthroughs of untold numbers of scientists, or the heroic stories of countless firefighters, police, EMS squads, teachers, and other comparable public servants who often toil anonymously and with meager compensation?
Perhaps my unique perspective, as a time traveller who has suddenly found himself in a very strange new world, is a bit out-of-step with the United States of 2013, but it would seem to me that something is not right here. What kind of a solution could we possibly offer? Perhaps just ignoring them, in hopes that without their all-important daily dose of publicity, they would simply wither and shrink away, like a plant deprived of sunlight.
Only then would we begin to see the tide turn, and ultimately, realize the great benefit to be realized from the disappearance of “selfies” and other such preposterous nonsense.
Your humble servant,
B.Franklin
Other times, the well-deserving individual who may have contributed greatly to society’s betterment is unheralded, unappreciated, and unknown. In my day, in the 1700s, it would be similar to publicizing the rather ordinary exploits of Thomas Jefferson’s housekeeper, while ignoring the many noble accomplishments of Mr. Jefferson himself.
I suppose that this whole phenomenon known as “reality TV” may be partly to blame. As with the newspapers of my day, a certain publisher becomes convinced that his readers would be well-served by printing all the gossip, half-truths, and bald lies that he can fabricate, just for the sake of selling more newspapers. So too with reality TV.
On the other hand, nothing happens in isolation, and in a situation such as this, there are most certainly two parties who play a role in the deed – the publisher who perpetuates the dreadful, disgraceful misinformation being presented as “journalism,” and the readers who clamor for more of the same.
Which brings me to my principal question of the day: Who are the Kardashians, and why do so many people obsess over their every move? Why does the United States, as a society, devote far more ink and more broadcast time to this media-manipulated family than, for example, the collective good deeds of charitable organizations, the advances and breakthroughs of untold numbers of scientists, or the heroic stories of countless firefighters, police, EMS squads, teachers, and other comparable public servants who often toil anonymously and with meager compensation?
Perhaps my unique perspective, as a time traveller who has suddenly found himself in a very strange new world, is a bit out-of-step with the United States of 2013, but it would seem to me that something is not right here. What kind of a solution could we possibly offer? Perhaps just ignoring them, in hopes that without their all-important daily dose of publicity, they would simply wither and shrink away, like a plant deprived of sunlight.
Only then would we begin to see the tide turn, and ultimately, realize the great benefit to be realized from the disappearance of “selfies” and other such preposterous nonsense.
Your humble servant,
B.Franklin