A Coke was a Coke

By Mark W. Danielson

 

I love music.  For me, nothing lifts the soul or occupies the mind like a well-constructed tune.  Even though most of the time music serves as background, there are times when the lyrics draw me in.  One song in particular was Tim McGraw’s reflective hit, I Miss Back When.  As the title implies, it examines how our morals and language have changed over the last few decades.  If you’re unfamiliar with his song, Tim sings about how a coke was a coke, a hoe was a hoe, crack was something you did when someone told a joke, and so on.  Talk about nailing it, we’d all be better off if we could turn back time. 

Far more disturbing than our moral decline is how so many people are letting others think for them.  While some blame this on apathy, broken marriages, both parents working, whatever, I think the simplest explanation is younger people tend to lack imagination.  Play sets like Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, and Erector Sets that once challenged kids’ minds and promoted logical and mechanical thinking have been replaced with electronic games that snare kids and keep them from noticing the outside world.  Even Legos shed their imaginative play sets in favor of theme kits.  Rather than keep their original variable-sized building blocks, Lego kits have gone to specific models.  Build whatever’s on the box and you’re done.  Forget about creating your own starship because the pieces limit what you can do. Okay, this is an exaggeration, but these policy shifts still parody our society. 

For the sake of argument, I’m labeling this societal transferal media selection because it affects every aspect of our lives.  As much as people love social networking, television remains our most influential media, bombarding us with biased reporting and suggestive commercials and shows.  Turn on the TV and it will show you how you should look, tell you what to eat, how to medicate, vote and treat other people.  Mulling over commercials selling us on pharmaceuticals reminds me of the sixties song about how one pill makes you larger, another makes you small, and the one that mother gives you does nothing at all.  The bottom line is pharmaceutical companies want you hooked on their medicine, and too many fall into their trap.

But far worse than the medical industry’s tact is award recipients and talk show hosts preaching about how we should live our lives.  The grandest display appeared on the recent Grammy Awards.  Please explain to me what a mass marriage ceremony has to do with music or an awards show?  We just saw the media focus on a Duck Dynasty actor and NBA player attending the President’s State of the Union Address.  What’s next?  Live sex change operations at the Oscars?  People, whatever you do on your own time is your business, but awards shows should limit themselves to the awards, and the recipients should keep their comments to thanking whoever is responsible for getting them there before quietly leaving the stage, just like they did back when. 

Speaking of politics, I’m tired of people voting based on celebrity endorsements.  I’m tired of celebrities slamming potential contenders before they ever appear on a ballot.  I’m tired of our soldiers dying overseas while the media focusses on gay issues rather than our debt and war losses.  Most of all, I’m tired of seeing our citizens act like sheep.  While it’s is easier to follow another’s lead than gathering facts, everyone should realize our free society depends on us doing our own research and making intelligent choices, so why not open your minds and stop being guided by the media?  It should not surprise anyone that not everything seen on the TV or Internet is true. 

While The US Constitution protects the media’s freedom of speech, it should never impair your freedom of choice.  Realize that every politician caters to the media to get elected, and to stay in office they glad-hand and grovel to keep the media on their side.  Also realize that when a favored politician blunders, their incident or indiscretion disappears, but for those less favored, anything negative becomes front page news, lingering like a sewer leak.  No matter which medium you get your news from, fairness is a myth.

I used to wonder why older people were so cynical and now I understand.  Despite their expansive lives’ experiences and vast educations, the only ones paying attention to the gray generations are pharmaceutical companies.  So, how about it, Tim?  It won’t be long before AARP finds you.  You have an updated version of Back When?  Oh yeah, I do miss it . . .

 

Exporting American Pop

By Mark W. Danielson

I love traveling the globe. It’s wonderful seeing the world through other people’s eyes, exploring different cultures, and experiencing new things—but there is no escaping America’s influence overseas. Working in the cargo industry as I do, it’s clear that we import more than we export. The exception to this is our exports in entertainment and fast food. In foreign cities large and small, it’s rare to escape Starbucks, McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Coke and Pepsi are household names in any language. Movie stars appear on enormous billboards. Even Tommy Lee Jones has his face on Japanese vending machines, promoting a beverage called BOSS. Regardless of how other countries may disdain our politics, they still crave our movies, TV, music, and fast food. Some even dress to emulate their favorite stars, such as the Japanese urban cowboy I saw, boot-scooting his way through a crowded Osaka sidewalk.

Some protest that these American fast-food chains are corrupting other cultures and hurting local businesses. While this point has some credence, there is no turning back. After all, if this food wasn’t fast, cheap, and tasty, it never would have succeeded in the United States, not to mention the rest of the world. Besides, city planners had to approve each of these franchises, so don’t blame us. It’s up to them to decide how much is too much.

Disney is everywhere. Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck greet visitors to Singapore’s airport, inside and out. Disney theme parks are now in Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. In Osaka, the Cinderella Chapel Hotel boasts a twenty foot Cinderella statue atop the building. I also noticed Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty stickers on a strip club’s window as I walked by, though I have no idea as to their significance. Osaka also has a Vegas-style Hotel LOVE, with The Hotel Miami right next door. Curiously, neither of these hotels caters to American tourists.

American rock and roll is being played in bars and fast food joints around the world. Even my hotel in Penang had a 1960’s American music radio station. In the bigger cities, some outdoor televisions play American music videos. American TV shows and movies are dubbed in numerous languages to accommodate foreign audiences. Sadly, the few English speaking channels often broadcast our worst TV shows, such as Jerry Springer in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I’m not sure who decides what to put on the air, but clearly what is being shown does not represent the United States any more than CNN’s limited stories represent other countries. Sadly, most news stories tend to portray nations in a negative light, which means it’s up to each citizen to accentuate the positive.

My intent here is not to cause an outcry, but rather to identify our successful overseas exports. For better or worse, it’s nice to know that the United States offers the world something that makes people happy, and for that, I’m grateful. As much as it appalls me that our fast food chains are everywhere, kids around the world always smile while chomping their burgers and fries. For them, life is even better if they can eat while watching Sponge Bob Squarepants. So with that, I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year.