"Hi, there! Welcome to America!
Okay, the first thing you're going to need is a smartphone. It's actually rather necessary, most would rather be late to an appointment then leave without it.
Here you can use it to access the Internet. Here is how you can download games for if you're bored. If games aren't your thing, you can also download books. News, blogs, videos, pictures, information - it's all here at the touch of your finger.
What's that you said? Does it have a phone? Yes, but that's only about one-thirtieth of its capacity. I'd learn how to text first, here's how you do that.
Please also consider our television. Most are Internet-based nowadays. Why's that, you ask? Well, because cable is boring and offers little choices, and satellite, while offering more choice, still only lets you watch shows as they come out. If you MUST have satellite, you need to get a box-thing that lets you record. That way you have some limited ability to watch what you want whenever you want as many times as you want! What? Why do we do this? Well, because our schedules are complicated, and you can't expect what you want and what you need to do to align very much. So rather than go without we created workarounds. Talk about ingenious, am I right?
Since we're talking about TV, here's our news. You can watch news channels, read news articles online, or do both. The purpose is to be as educated as possible about what's going on around the world, to try and be more socially aware. I find I agree most with Paul Bresche, a blogger with with this network, and I don't really read much else. But I have some friends who only watch this channel on TV, but that's because they're liberals don'tcha know. Huh? Why is there so much? So much what? News? Well, there's a lot happening! And more importantly, lots of people have a lot of opinions about it all!
Now, as you go about your day, there will be times where you won't be around your TV or your phone might be dead. Not to worry, we've thought of that too! There are magazines for your viewing pleasure when you're stuck in lines, countless radio stations if you have satellite radio, and practically unlimited amounts of music and podcasts for free. Even our gas pumps are starting to have TV's on them! Isn't that great? I'm like, 'why didn't we think of that sooner,' you know?
We pride ourselves on being the most informed, most connected, most aware culture out there. This must be so much better than whatever you're coming from, right? Ugh, I went overseas this one time, and I couldn't believe how boring it was. Sure we did cool stuff and it was pretty and all, but after a while I really missed my American TV and radio. And there was so much less wifi, I thought I would die. Thankfully I had my friends to text, they felt really sorry for me.
Anyway, I'm rambling. All that should get you started, but the best part is that there's so much more! New gizmos are being invented all the time, I'm a member of at least ten social networks, there are always articles with new ideas and ways of doing things, and I've laid out my dream life on Pinterest. Welcome home!"
While a tad over-the-top, does all of that not ring somewhat true? Of course it does. Taking out the sarcasm and satire, I basically only described a few facets of Western culture.
Western culture is wonderful. So much good has been born of it. If you need convincing of that, take a walk through any modern city. The skyscrapers, business models, order, technology - all that and more possesses strong roots in Western culture.
But it's not perfect. Our culture is very sick. Among other diseases, we are strongly afflicted with what Larry Dossey calls "time-sickness," an obsessive belief that "time is getting away, there isn't enough of it, and you must pedal faster and faster to keep up." Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, puts it this way: "We are moving from a world in which the big eat the small to one in which the fast eat the slow."
This mindset, while beneficial in its own way, has deprived us of some very important ideas that are necessary if we are to have a healthy, successful life (depending on your definition of a "healthy, successful life"). We've lost appreciation for things like slowing down, deep relationship, and especially silence.
I trust this isn't the first time you've heard this. I also trust that by now you're starting to consider the reality of it. The cogs are turning, the metaphorical ball that does the rolling is indeed rolling somewhere.
What does this mean for you? I don't know. I'm 21, I just graduated, I'm just as (if not more) saturated in the unhealthy aspects of our culture as you. I'm only in the middle of realizing all this. I'm very thankful for the community that this blog is, and I imagine their responses with be elaborations, taking some of these ideas and implications further. I'm no scientist or academic, I don't have any book or theories. I just am in the middle of all this, and all I can hope is that the questions have been planted, and that you will water them inside yourself. When they bloom, don't just ignore them. When you find yourself asking "Why do I use my phone so much?", take the time to consider it. Don't just shove it down. This is important.
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