Soapbox time. One of the things I enjoy with Sam so much is that we can have intellectual discourse. We can actually do something that I think the average American cannot even fathom or contemplate: turning off all media, and just talking. About anything, but it’s most interesting when it’s not about personal, daily stuff, but politics or social observations. I challenge anyone 25 or under to do this for an evening!
In any case, one of the issues I continually bring up is the state of language and communication in today’s world. And with the passing of one of the great linguists, George Carlin, it seems like a good time to bring it up.
Much has been said about the fact that nobody in this next generation knows how to write and/or communicate. There was recently an editorial letter in the LA Times stating that maybe newspapers shouldn’t use words like “phantasmagoria”, “bucolic”, “aesthetic”, or “diminution”, because, frankly, no one uses those words anymore, and newspapers have an obligation to serve the public good.
Wow.
This raised a storm of letters, lamenting that if, like, news spoke, like, the kids now, it would be like, so totally lame, you know dude? Have you ever seen texts, emails, IM’s, notes, etc., written by this generation? Or listened in on their phone calls? It’s drivel! (And if you don’t know what that means, try something novel and LOOK IT UP.)
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with short cuts in daily communication, and not all conversations have to be eloquent. Occasionally, one needs to text a quick “S’up dude?”. My problem arises from the fact that that is all they know. There is no more sophisticated alternative. I’ve seen a note spelled the word “ceiling” as “seeling”–and this is from a HIGH SCHOOL student.
So now society seems to be at this very odd dichotomy. There are more ways of communicating that ever before (cell phones, email, texting, IM’ing, MySpace, Facebook, home phones, 2-way, and even blogs like mine!), but less and less to actually say. What’s going on here?
It all seems to tie into a book I recently read (yes, people still read books) called Hello, I’m Special. It discussed the fact that everybody is being encouraged to be an individual. Now think about that. If everybody is an individual, then aren’t we all conformists? Popular understanding of the word conformity defines it as doing what everybody else does. Well, everybody’s being an individual. Therefore, we are all conformists. So how do you make yourself stand out when everyone else is trying to do the exact same thing?
This is part of the reason reality shows are so popular. But I also think this ties into the communication–when were are talking to people, we feel important. Which translates to special. Yet it’s all hallow, and I think deep down, we all know it, but continue to live in denial, because the truth–that we are not really all that unique, that we are not all going to be celebrities, and that life does not treat all of us fairly–is unbearable.
George Carlin’s got it easy now. It’s the rest of us that have to worry.
End of soapbox.
(I’ll post pics again soon. Thanks for putting up with my rant.)
