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| We know who you are |
We know who they are. They know who they are. We all know
what it’s about. The American Public in general has caught on to the type of
fast-talking, Harold-Hill mentality found in modern day prose. There is a
glibness to the text that we read at times. A wink and a nod is given to those
of us who peruse the top ten blurb lists that threaten to suffocate us on a
daily basis. We are surrounded by the too-clever subject lines that will pull
us in. We must be drawn, and the newest tag line for publishing is: “It has to ‘Pop’!”
I don’t want to pop, sparkle, fizz or undulate when I write.
I want it to sink in like a stone, and be worn like a talisman around the neck.
I want my words to shine, and I want the verse to be taken and held next to the
heart. I don’t necessarily want everyone to “get” me. I don’t “get” everyone. I
don’t watch the most popular TV shows, but I do watch TV. I’m not like those
holier-than-thou artistes who turn their noses up at pop culture and mass
media. On the contrary, my belief is that our savior from all this madness
surrounding modern media will be someone who has worked as a reporter and/or a
blogger. That person will, of course, be a genius along the lines of a William
Shakespeare, a Mark Twain, or an Ernest Hemingway. This person, he or she, will
be able to look at the bullshit artists that are constantly spinning a web of
false promises and fake ideals and will be able to turn the equation on its
head.
We will be able to tell, at that point, that the Emperor not
only has not been wearing clothes for the past twenty-odd years, but he’s also
either on life-support or doesn’t even exist. If our culture depends upon the
instant gratification of the message trending at the moment, then we are
doomed. I don’t believe that. I believe the bullshit that is found in almost
every piece of copy we see floating past our e-mail boxes, headlined in our
papers and magazines, and trumpeted on the best-seller lists, is illusory and
will someday be a distant memory. That is what happens to words that are written,
but in the end, don’t say a thing.
The important stuff is found in small print, at times. Some
of the items that are overlooked are some of the most fascinating things to
read. These are usually buried in the back, or found on page 9 of the daily
paper. But there’s still important news to be preserved. The news reports that
told us all was not well in Iraq. The news about the war on terror, the war on
poverty, and the war on words. We are fighting on the front lines every day to
preserve a culture that may not be worth preserving. If someone comes along,
someone with a new way of conveying information to the masses in this Mass
Media Information Age, then we will be able to see the bullshit artists for
what they are. And they will be no more.
