Betty White said a game show like Password wouldn’t make it on TV today because contestants can’t think on their feet anymore. I agree. I’d like to think that I’m getting smarter every year but I would hazard to guess that the Jeopardy questions are less difficult than they used to be. At one time, I would see a show like Cops or America’s Funniest Home Videos, and fear for our future. But now, there is a whole culture of stupid out there. And they’re proud of it, not to mention, well paid. An article in UTNE Reader (Jan.-Feb. 2011), first published in The Humanist, reads, “The belief culture thrives on the false principal that all opinions are equal, even those without a shred of factual data, documentation, or reasoned methodology.” And Homer Simpson said it even better, “Facts are meaningless. You can use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true.”
This dumbing down of society has brought our below-average members to the surface—of my TV. We are drowning in media personalities who are obnoxious, selfish, fake, and ignorant. From my point-of-view, sitting in front of my television, attractive people are happy, young people are sex fiends, old people need copious amounts of prescription medication, I know more than certain politicians (scary thought), and all your problems can be solved with a prayer and a small donation. We are being deluded into thinking extremeness is normal. Thank goodness for programs like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to let me know that I’m not the only one looking for a little sanity, a wider perspective, and a good laugh.
Looking around, it appears the cream of the crop who are currently on topic, and worth listening to, are those with a constant Twitter feed, getting updates of their acquaintances on Facebook, while streaming the latest YouTube sensation. I'm all for the internet bringing us closer together and propelling the world forward, but not at the expense of drowning out more important topics. And you are out of touch with the real world if you’re not connected 24 hours a day, knowing what everyone around you is doing every second, feeding an addiction to the daily minutiae of our existence.
As you may have surmised, I’m not a texter, therefore I am not on the same wave length as someone trying to communicate with their thumbs in as little time as possible; I’m on the side of people worried about the demise of proper punctuation (I can hear the moaning through the computer screen). It’s true, I’m old fashioned, and this method may seem obsolete but it works for me: apart from writing and reading—and I’m not referring to anything penned by authors named Snooki—I use face-to-face communication to feel connected to the world around me.
Admittedly, I usually have my nose stuck in a book at my kids’ practices, but when I do venture into a conversation, I find myself relating to real people. I do have a terrible habit of being so nervous when I talk to someone that I babble on, my inner-voice screaming at me to shut-up, but still I make an attempt because it makes me feel refreshed and energized. As Ms. White reminds us, being able to come up with a coherent thought at a moment’s notice is challenging; it’s a skill that needs to be honed: greeting someone you cross paths with on the sidewalk, speaking up at public meetings, asking questions of a stranger, small talk at a party. Mind you, there are some conversations going on around me that I would rather not be privy to: the gossip and intimate information you overhear people say—even though you, a stranger, are only two seats away—makes me cringe. I must remember, though, that these people are just like me, trying to make a personal connection, only in a less discreet manner.
