Frankly, I find it unsettling when today's youth actively follow a religious practice, especially when said following disrupts their social activities and lives. It is not wrong (of course) to do so, but it seems out of place in today's fast-paced, technological and ever-evolving world to be devout in one's religious beliefs. I believe the argument has been made before, but how do ancient religious ideals actually relate to today's society? It seems almost foolish to devote significant portions of one's time to practicing rigid and structural ceremonies, created centuries or even millennia ago.
With older generations, practicing religion seems much more understandable; they have had to deal with the experience of the hardships of total war, threat of nuclear attack, economic collapse, and similar bleak periods. From such darkness, a people must find hope, which religion has long since provided. However, over time, tradition changes, even dies out. What keeps today's teenagers and children practicing a religious belief? Understandably, many younger children are forced by their parents to do so, but I find it surprising that more teenagers do not dispose of these habits when they leave for either college or the work force. For what reasons do today's youth have to pray?
I do not dispute some of the purer points of religious belief, such as the concentration on one's ethics and moral behaviors; I find myself more concerned with rituals and practices such as fasting, studying of religious text, and going to religious institutions such as churches. What keeps the youth motivated to continue doing such things? How does it relate to their fast, "go-go" lifestyles? Brainwashing? I digress.
Shalom,
Me
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Stagnant Media
What has our news media become? I submit this question to anyone who dare answer it. I myself, an advocate of any viewpoint that takes both sides into account, and picks some middle ground (I call it moderate, but others beg to differ), find myself increasingly repelled by most of our nation's major news networks, if not all of them. Obviously, I won't bother dwelling on the most obvious examples of "bad" news, such as the ever infamous Fox News network. Other supposed more "moderate" news giants, such as CNN, HLN (basically CNN), and MSNBC, seem to be falling deeper into the stupid hole, past the point where they can claw their way out and reclaim their legitimacy.
However, my beef is mostly with CNN, which has reached a level of idiocy that soon will rival that of the almighty Foxian Republican machine. Every morning now, I find myself turning CNN's useless dribble of a morning news program off, fearing their broadcast to forcibly implant stupid in my brain. Over the course of (maybe) the last year or so, CNN has attempted to integrate modern social networking aspects and an overall more "hip" edge to their programming, with pretty abysmal results. At times, they take user comments off of their website, and feature them on the show, if said user said something particularly intelligent or relevant to the issue at hand; this method of integrating technology I think is a positive change. It is a step in the right direction to take the ideas and statements of viewers, and feature them on the show, answering questions and discussing proposed theories and ideas. Sorry, let me correct myself: this would be the correct step if they were not frequently taking user comments of CNN's own personal Facebook page. While I find they primarily use these tidbits in the morning segment of their HLN network, which tries to be much more "hip" and "less dry" than its sister network, it is still an inexcusable method of collecting user input for discussion. These sort of examples only serve to show how social networking sites are truly taking over every aspect of the media, from the news to the internet itself. Next, news networks will start citing from and utilizing other valid web-based sources and sites, such as the faultless Wikipedia and Facebook's ancestor program, Myspace.
Besides specific instances such as these, a general downtrend can be seen in what is actually reported on by the network. It was impossible to ignore the weeks upon weeks of Michael Jackson related news, following the famous performer's death in June of 2009. The real issue at hand is this: news networks are focusing more on attracting viewers and appealing to the general populace, rather than delivering important and pertinent information. I understand this. Obviously, news networks are trying to connect with their viewers, hook them, and keep them coming back for more. These stations need revenue to stay afloat, don't they? Of course they do. Therein lies the problem, the average (American) audience member is pardon me, a f***ing idiot. I'm really not here to insult the average stupidity of our nation's people (although it is undeniably a problem), but this inherent stupidity is forcing our news networks to act stupid, in order to appeal to them. So what kind of news do these people actually want to read? Well, let me bring up an example here. CNN's own website http://www.CNN.com, posts a column on the right side of the page where they list what news stories are the most popular for the day. Let's look at today's, shall we? Oh, *ahem* the title of the article says it all: "Police: Gang rape lasted over two hours". That's all people want nowadays: murders, rape, explosions, and any form of violence you can fathom. An old news saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." You better believe that's true.
I only hope news networks, especially CNN, will pull their heads out of their asses and realize that news is by definition, the presentation of relevant facts and events that occur around our world everyday, and keeping us, a population that cannot be as cogniscient as these news elite, informed of exactly what's going on. Focus needs to be taken off of random violence and atrocities, taken off of "modernizing", and pulled back to actually finding real stories, and reporting on them in an unbiased, interesting, and useful manner. An example of a story that shows how far our news networks have fallen? The very-recent Balloon Boy story, a supposed hoax that was still actively reported on, long after it was theorized, then proven it was a hoax. Don't even get me started on that. Think it out.
I could say more, but that's enough for now.
Keep on your toes,
Me
Academics
What does our modern American college system really teach our nation's youth? I have found myself pondering this question for a while now. Does our supposed academic process even support true academics anymore? This worries me.
When I look at modern schooling nowadays, I notice it merely encompasses the absorption of a staggering amount of facts, theories, formulas, and literature (of course depending on what subject material you are criticizing); the true analysis of ideas, discussion of pertinent information, and the overall process of real learning seems to have fallen by the wayside. I myself, a member of this system, am appalled by how robotic learning environments have become. I hear people criticize Eastern Powers overseas of exhibiting the same faults, but are we really any different? Where is this rich and colorful American "creativity" and ingenuity that I hear so much about nowadays? Was it ever there? It's not here now, at least.
One needs to look at the style of learning that plagues most classrooms nowadays: lecturing and supposed "discussion". Discussion, at least in my book, usually entails a somewhat equal sharing of ideas and information between two or more sources, in an ideally unbiased and intellectual setting. What I see in classrooms, is NOT discussion. Professors tend to merely spew forth torrents of information at these students, taking little feedback that contrasts with their academic viewpoints; is this a real way to learn? I don't know about others, but the mere presentation of facts and ideas does not constitute learning. You can throw as many buckets of water at a brick wall as you want, but none of that water is going to sustain the dying flower on the other side of that wall. If serious discussion could be actually had, with speech and thought actively encouraged, I'm sure we could turn that wall into a sponge, and that poor flower could soak in some of that sweet, life-giving water.
More on this later. For now, I must depart.
Keep your minds open,
Me
When I look at modern schooling nowadays, I notice it merely encompasses the absorption of a staggering amount of facts, theories, formulas, and literature (of course depending on what subject material you are criticizing); the true analysis of ideas, discussion of pertinent information, and the overall process of real learning seems to have fallen by the wayside. I myself, a member of this system, am appalled by how robotic learning environments have become. I hear people criticize Eastern Powers overseas of exhibiting the same faults, but are we really any different? Where is this rich and colorful American "creativity" and ingenuity that I hear so much about nowadays? Was it ever there? It's not here now, at least.
One needs to look at the style of learning that plagues most classrooms nowadays: lecturing and supposed "discussion". Discussion, at least in my book, usually entails a somewhat equal sharing of ideas and information between two or more sources, in an ideally unbiased and intellectual setting. What I see in classrooms, is NOT discussion. Professors tend to merely spew forth torrents of information at these students, taking little feedback that contrasts with their academic viewpoints; is this a real way to learn? I don't know about others, but the mere presentation of facts and ideas does not constitute learning. You can throw as many buckets of water at a brick wall as you want, but none of that water is going to sustain the dying flower on the other side of that wall. If serious discussion could be actually had, with speech and thought actively encouraged, I'm sure we could turn that wall into a sponge, and that poor flower could soak in some of that sweet, life-giving water.
More on this later. For now, I must depart.
Keep your minds open,
Me
A Beginning
Hello all,
After years of watching and living in this so-called world of ours, I've finally decided to post some of my thoughts up on the internet, for any and all to read. I'll just be posting things that come to my mind, as I go through my daily life. Feel free to discuss.
Stay frosty,
Me
After years of watching and living in this so-called world of ours, I've finally decided to post some of my thoughts up on the internet, for any and all to read. I'll just be posting things that come to my mind, as I go through my daily life. Feel free to discuss.
Stay frosty,
Me
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