The risks of American escapism
Why is it that the top CNN stories today include the release of the latest American Idol castoff’s new line of designer pencil sharpeners, whilst millions of people around the world worry where their next meal will come from? Why is the announcement of a brand new and innovative iPod accessory bigger news than the gradual reemergence of repressive totalitarianism in Putin’s Russia? The answer is easy: America has gone soft.
That’s right. Amidst all our economic hegemony and military power, Americans themselves are genuinely afraid of the gruesome reality of the rest of the planet. We’d rather lounge around playing Halo and listening to “inspired” metal on our iPods than worry about the impending energy crisis or the deteriorating state of our occupations abroad. As shown by Victor Davis Hanson in his Plain Dealer article, “An Ill-Considered Retreat into Trivia,” people are becoming more and more involved and interested in the shenanigans of celebrities and reality television stars, that they’re forgetting to pay attention to the real world. “Enough of all this silly political mumbo-jumbo,” we say, “We’d rather discuss the latest Spider-Man.”
But the problems abroad affect Americans more profoundly than they realize. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury depicts a nightmarish world, where people are completely oblivious to the violence and war raging on around them, which ultimately leads to their demise. They reject the complexities of literature and treat politics as folly, retreating instead into the safe stupor of their television screens. And these televisions aren’t purely for entertainment value: they are a form of pro-government propaganda. The programming brainwashes those watching into a form of patriotic hysteria, as evidenced when the entire city was ordered to look for the fugitive Montag outside.
As Americans continue to rely more and more on the internet and the entertainment industry for every aspect of their lives, they are more susceptible to manipulation by the media. Many people today adopt the political views of their favorite band, and make abstract political proclamations without any legitimate outside knowledge to back their statement up. As people begin to conform to the standards society sets out for them, they start to become blindly obedient lemmings, buying and voting and thinking as they are told to buy, vote, and think.
If we continue this downward spiral, caring about the latest insult hurled at a business mogul by a lesbian talk show personality,1 Americans are prone to being maneuvered according to the media’s will. It is my honest belief that the majority of Americans don’t even genuinely care about Anna Nicole Smith’s death and the subsequent legal battle over her daughter; and the only reason it was such big news was because the media decided it wanted it to be. The media is in a powerful position today. If people continue to idolize their favorite celebrities, their favorite artists, their favorite politicians, one of these times their idols will take advantage of this blind obedience. America may become even more of a slave to the entertainment industry.
So why should we care about Russia, oil, politics and literature? Because they’re real. They matter. They affect human beings outside of the celebrities and corporations endorsing the media. If Americans can’t realize this truth soon, I fear that someday soon the headlines will read:
- Paris Hilton’s Illegitimate Granddaughter Buys a Donut! Buy Krispy Kreme!
- Vote for Marilyn Manson for President and Do Your Duty to the American Communist Party!
- China Invades Taiwan…
- Jerry Springer Grows a Third Arm!