Journals

        The Un-mutable Life             As Hunter S. Thompson once so beautifully put it, "I am a hopeless optimist, and I believe I have something to say." Knowing the King of gonzo journalism it is quite possible he was being sarcastic, but for me this is true.  By the way, if you haven't read any of Hunter's work I should recommend it. I hadn't either until I was aimlessly idle in the Brazilian rain forest, picking up The Rum Diary out of desperation for some way to pass the minutes without music, television or internet (forget about cell phones). I have found, then as now, reading a good book is often the best cure for boredom. I couldn't put the book down, finishing it in one full day, turning the last page in my flashlight lit tent waiting for morning to come.              My time spent in the jungles of the Amazon was a uniquely challenging experience, not just physically, but mentally. In fact, more so mentally. In this respect, it provided a fascinating case study on the "American Experience in a Foreign Environment". As I mentioned, I was without my creature comforts for the first time in my life. The thinker and writer that I am, however, I was able to cope through writing in my notebook or simply musing over thoughts in my brain. When that didn't work I turned to reading. But let me tell you, there were some on the trip, and not just females, who couldn't bare the boredom.  Their ceaseless whining toward the end became more than the rest of us could stand to take. Ironically, it was the company of white American complainers in over their underused head that made me most crazy. There's no insect repellant powerful enough to quiet that kind of biting.         How refreshing it was, when it finally hit me in all its breathtaking silence, that time spent sitting at a picnic table reading under the hot midday sun, the only noises heard coming from the few Kayapo men enjoying life at Pinkaiti Research Station. Every time I stare at the stars I am reminded of this beautiful place I discovered. It is a simple, sometimes mundane life the Kayapo lead - a life, by and large most of us could not fathom. When I returned from this world I often liked to tell people I was changed by it.  Deep down, I truly believe I am speaking out of truth, and the hopeless optimist in me says yes, I can lead a different life, one not tied to the fleeting possessions which continually drain our energy. But a part of me, the pathetic realist I assume, tells me I am really quite the same. Yes, the trip will live as long as I do in my pictures and my memories, but it was only a brief blip on the radar, a brilliant flashing opportunity to shut off the complete and endless stream of media surrounding my life for more than a few mere hours. And when I returned, I returned to normalcy, creature comforts which acted as if I'd never left.  From where I currently sit, I notice iTunes is open, Firefox is running, CNN is on in the background, and a ceiling fan above circulates the air. With every turn a repetitive cycle.  Another distraction.  If only I hadn't become so accustomed to their comfortable glow. It's too late for me.         What I'm saying, as I will explain with the help of Columbia University Prof. Todd Gitlin, is we have lost the power to shut down the media torrent swirling around us. Even when physically removed from it, we long for it's return. I'm not just talking about News here. Music, film, television, cell phones, our precious iPods are all forms of media. Is it a choice we make? Could we turn it off if we wanted?, But it's more than just turning it off for a couple hours, day, or weeks. It's leaving it off for good.               My thesis statement for a college paper written two years ago reads as follows: While the current condition in the middle-east appears to be unstable at best, what role do the media play in influencing public perception, and how well are college students able to decipher such information stimulus to arrive at their own estimation of what the real reality is?              While the focus of that paper was to point out the ways in which media controls our perceptions of War (a whole 'nother can of worms I won't open here), my answer today remains unchanged in response to the media which directs our life. The central argument comes from Todd Gitlin's Media Unlimited, a powerful look at the unending traffic flow of manufactured images that both define and pervert our civilization. In brief, a summary of his main argument: We, as a culture and society have evolved into an unprecedented state of instant gratification, one that allows us control while simultaneously removing it, presenting to us a relentless barrage of information and images that make our life experience “an experience in the presence of media”. The startling reality is this: with the evolution of technology we have lost the ability, and dare I say for some, even the willingness to think on our own. We choke on silence, unable to function unless we have our iPhones or wireless mouse pads at our fingertips. At what point do we become so saturated that we are unable to free ourselves from the entanglement of the media web, and at what cost does our need, rather, compulsive urge to reside in it become too dangerous for our own good? Indeed, we may have already passed that point.