How many Panthers watch the news or read the paper on a daily basis? How many Panthers watched the 2011 State of the Union Address? Oh, the sound of crickets. But wait, how many Panthers saw MTV’s “Skins” or “Jersey Shore” recently? They drool over it. I know, reality TV is very entertaining; anyone with half a brain can enjoy it.
It’s not just Panthers; Americans are uninterested or unaware with what occurs in the world— other than what we find entertaining. As we should all be aware of by now— that is, unless we’re too caught-up brainlessly browsing through our Facebook— an Arizona shooting recently occurred. It made national news by leaving six dead and 14 wounded. These individuals who lived, breathed, loved, and belonged became six of the 86 shot dead everyday in America. Yet, to us, it’s just another story, just another “useless” statistic.
Instead of stimulating our lives and updating our knowledge of the world, we waste our time. We admire the achievements of actors and politicians (via Entertainment Television) when we should really invest time pursuing our own. We update the world (via Facebook) on how we are driving or eating or executing some other insignificant action when in reality we should really be engaging with what is important.
On Youtube, a video entitled “Why people think Americans are stupid” satirizes how ignorant and uninformed we really seem. The way Americans unite confirms our pathetic nature as well: instead of being a country tied by English, democracy, or even freedom, we are bound by sports, by something televised and intended to entertain.
Nonetheless, America used to be admirable, right? When the going got tough, when the competition got intense, Americans rose to the occasion. We ingeniously invented the transcontinental railroad, the motorized vehicle, the interstate highway, and the airplane— right? But after sitting on a pedestal above the world for so long, we have become unconcerned and inattentive like infants who, without colorful keys dangled in front of them, grow bored.
People around the world fight civil wars for independence, suffer from immense floods, and die from airport-detonated bombs. Yet rather than showing any interest, rather than paying any attention, rather than demonstrating any awareness, we obliviously drift onward like blissfully ignorant children.
But, of course, ask any American when Kanye acted foolishly toward Taylor Swift at the VMA’s and they will recall it with interest, not indifference, in their voice.
