Media-crity

     Youth today are bombarded with so much. The high speed culture of America has opened the door to a plethora of stimuli all competing for the attention of the masses. School, family, and media are constantly tugging at the minds of youth. While giving undivided attention to any is not always healthy I believe the growing power that media has on youth is risky. In 2001 PBS released the documentary The Merchants of Cool all about media’s effect of culture and more specifically the teenage culture. It was fairly eye opening and scary to see how media adapts to their target audience. The largest targeted audience is teenagers because of their amount of disposable income. So basically it is economically savvy for media to market to the next generation, but it is far better to manipulate them. The documentary focuses in on a company called Look-Look that seeks out trendsetters and sells pictures and ideas to marketing companies. These companies then act on the information. Usually these so called trendsetters are a select few, it is not the average Joe on the street. Once the media gives proper attention to these trend setters it can become the norm. Basically the media has the power to magnify a select group making it appear as reality. Youth are then bombarded with this superficial reality until it is ingrained to point where it becomes reality. I mean why try to predict culture when you can shape it, right?

     This is not inherently bad, but the media is becoming less and less censored. Sexuality, cursing, crude humor and violence are now the norm, not the exception. It is all dulling to the senses. Before 1984 PG-13 did not exist. Initial concern was for PG ratings given to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. I am sure most people have seen one or the other and probably do not understand the fuss that was raised. It just shows how desensitized media can make us as computer graphics can make things look more lifelike. If you are skeptical about media’s dulling effect go a month without TV, you might be surprised what stands out the next time to watch the newest episode and latest box office hit. It does not stop at TV. Anyone else remember the uproar against the Grand Theft Auto video games series? How about billboards? I just read an article the other day that Pornhub, an online pornography site, has a billboard on time square. Anyone think that pornography should be treated as mainstream? All in all, I think it is important to recognize the power media has.

     I was taught that if you put good in then you put good out. It will be difficult to teach youth good when the media screams the opposite. Ideas and social norms are in a constant state of change and will be hard to keep with and harder to counter negative ones. I think as an educator it will be important to stay current without assimilating. This way you can have proper respect for your students and they will respect you. Also how do expect to be a positive influence when you do not understand what else is going on. In the book Is Everyone Really Equal the authors constantly insist that denying reality can only serve to maintain its heading. I want to make a positive difference in students’ lives, I can only do so by acknowledging the reality they live in.

Suburbian Sprawl

     I grew up in Dacula, Georgia but nowadays I would be better off saying I’m “just a few minutes from the Mall of Georgia” or around “The Hamilton Mill area”. My home is in every way modern suburbia, but it was not always like that. Fifteen years ago when my family moved to Dacula it very much a rural place. Lots of open land, farms, and pockets of small towns. Nothing around but Fort Daniel Elementary School and a Winn Dixie. At the same time we moved in the Mall Of Georgia was being built. Once that opened up my home started to change. Businesses and neighborhoods popped up everywhere. As more families came the need for more space in schools came too. My 3^rd grade year a new elementary school opened and took half my friends with it. A few years later a new middle school and high school were built. Mill Creek High School (MCHS) was the largest high school in the Southeast for a few years. During my years at MCHS one new elementary school, a new middle school, and two new high schools were built in the area. So needless to say my home town exploded soon after I moved there.

     With that explosion came the different culture of suburbia. It was at war with the existing rural culture that felt threatened with all the change. My parents grew up in a rural area and naturally sided more with that way of thinking. I did not like the change because I kept losing friends to other schools. On top of that I grew up appreciating the outdoors that businesses were tearing down for new strip malls and fast food chains. Specifically there were a patch of woods with a lake across from our church I was quite fond of. On numerous occasions my Sunday school class had had weekend campouts there and guys I knew had spent hours on service projects building trails and an outdoor amphitheater. I had lots of good memories there and now it’s a Kroger. The people that moved in after lots of the construction love how there is just about every store or food chain you can imagine at your fingertips. But I miss the open outdoors, the small family run shop, and not having to spend ten minutes in traffic everywhere I go. Every time I go back home I encounter a new traffic light or a new bare spot where a forest once stood.

     I think growing up around all the change has made me appreciate old things. New stuff just feels invasive. Sure it might be easier to find things you need for sale and having a lot of restraint options is convenient but it does not bring me the joy that living in a small town brought me as a kid. I seem to reach out for these joys in other places. I probably enjoyed a program in the little town of Pine Mountain because it reminded me of how home used to me. It’s also most likely why I love being a camp counselor in the North Georgia Mountains and go to college in the small town of Dahlonega. The invasiveness of urbanization drove me to find its opposite. So I guess I’m a country boy that grew up in the suburbs longing for a return to the simple life.

A Flaming Chalice

     Recently I visited a Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church so to experience a different religion for a class assignment. I wasn’t specifically assigned to attend this service but I choose it because I was curious. I had learned about some of the UU’s beliefs and was surprised that there was a meeting place in the area. Having my limited knowledge I was surprised that there would be enough people in a small southern town in the mountains who held these beliefs to start a UU church. So because of my curiosity of the religion and who would go I scoped it out one Sunday with two of my friends.

     So initials observations told me this was going to be similar but distinctly different from my Christian upbringing. The entire service was made to resemble a church setting with some subtle UU “enhancements”. Having tapestries with religious symbols and sayings is not uncommon and there were many displayed along the walls. As the service started their president made some announcements, called out the visitors to introduce themselves, and lit a candle that was in a chalice by the podium. The choir sang songs that were in a hymn style from a book and the guest speaker, an ordained UU Minister, read a short story for the few children. The Minister introduced himself as a former president that everyone else seemed to recognize and he gave his “sermon”. Afterward the choir sang another song and the floor was opened for those who wished to share joys and sorrows of the past week. So like I said not an altogether unfamiliar style for a Sunday service.

     While it might have appeared as church, the content was extremely different in each part of the service. Let’s start with the tapestries that all displayed a prominent symbol from major world religions with one with UU Flaming Chalice in the center. This is a visual representation of the fundamental belief in religious acceptance and tolerance. The president fills a pastoral position and is a UU Minister. I am curious of what kind of theology one studies to become a UU minister and it is also interesting to note that they allow females to become ministers. Now let’s get to the music. The songs were similar to hymns but were fairly eerie sounding. As a musician I noticed they were all in minor keys and on top of that had strange topics. One song commented on the woes of life and the last verse praised an ambiguous “you” that lead them through. Another song seemed to hint at the belief in reincarnation and mentioned God along with praising ancestors. All around these song were very vague and mysterious. The kids were read a short story about a boy seeing his feet under the covers of his bed that was strange and served no purpose in opinion. Now the minister got up to speak and did so without any notes and more importantly did not draw from any source but his experience. He told us a story of him speaking at a graveside service and went into detail about life events that allowed him to connect with those around him. He wanted to convey to everyone that our lives are made of stories and you can be a part of other’s stories as well as creating your own. Sounded very pantheistic, everything is connected type of stuff. Now what followed was the reports from the congregation. Reminded me of praise and prayer requests that I church would do, but they always said that these were “in their thoughts” not praying. During this time a college aged girl came up and said one of her coworkers was coming out to his parents and the entire congregation erupted in applause in support. Needless to say that wouldn’t happen in a traditional church setting.

     One thing didn’t notice at first, when I did it got me searching for an explanation, was that the vast majority of the congregation was 60 years or older. This surprised me for multiple reasons. I would have thought the idea of tolerance and acceptance would draw a younger crowd. Generally speaking prior generations were raised on strict Christian views. Also you don’t hear or see many people of that age in support for the Gay Rights movement that is obviously a sincere belief to UU members. I know that’s a generalized statement, but it truly shocked my friends and I how old everyone was. With how regimented the service was and how similar the service was compared to Christian services I don’t think it would be a stretch that everyone probably grew up attending a church of some kind. They probably left because they were offended by something or someone. They were used to and wanted a church atmosphere that UU could provide without controversial beliefs (because everything is accepted). Its church without the religious strings attached.

     It was a good experience overall. I think it’s easy to get a negative stereotype about people who are different from you. When you are exposed to different things you can find common ground that wouldn’t be in a normal stereotype. As an educator it is imperative to find common ground with students so a mutual respect can be formed.

Handi-capable

     Let’s start out with saying that North Georgia, as a whole, is not very friendly to those with disabilities especially to those who require crutches or a wheel chair. All the hills and stairs around campus are enough to tire out the physically elite and exhausting to everyone else. One of my friends with a bum knee was on crutches and I drove her to class because crutching along was a workout. What added to it was that most places are accessible by stairs. You have to go out of your way for a ramp or some kind of non-stair entrance. Is campus that bad for the disabled? Well let’s look at my average day.

     As crazy as it sounds even getting in and out of my dorm would be a hassle. I live on the third floor and could take the elevator to ground floor no problem, getting back up is the tricky part. The door I would leave from only opens from the inside. All the other doors, with the exception of one, open at the first floor for half the building, the half I am not on. My dorm is set up weird but basically at minimum I would have to travel up or down a half flight of stairs to get to an elevator that would bring me to my room. All that said only half of the possible routes to my dorm are accessible. These routes are not the most direct in most circumstances either causing people with limitations to travel further. My classes are in three academic buildings. One is easily accessible, one is highly inconvenient, and I am currently unaware of how someone in a wheelchair could enter the last building. These are not social areas of convenience, classes are held here. How can you take a class if you cannot get in the classroom?

     I feel like I am getting a little worked up. I never noticed these problems until I had to and to me that is a huge problem. Sure the argument can be made that at least special arrangements are being made, but they are restrictive. If I were disabled I would not go to this university. And while it’s is not all the university’s fault (i.e. the campus is extremely hilly)I do not think that there has been enough effort made to make sure disabled people can be free to pursue what they wish.