nosoul

The View From Highland Ranch

By John McCormick

Many primitive tribes object to being photographed.

I'm not big on it myself but that's mostly because I don't know who might still be looking for me.

Jack, on the other hand, loves to have his picture taken, especially when being groomed by our comely young field hand or anyone under the age of 12.

But we know that Jack can be a true jackass when it comes to getting attention for himself. And that's only right since he is a male donkey.

However, the way Jack seems to perk up when a camera appears along with the way I now get recognized around town has gotten me to thinking about those primitive tribes which feel that when taking pictures of someone you are capturing their soul, or at least a piece of it.

Now we're all civilized modern people so we know that's a silly superstition.

But have you ever thought about the fact that the most photographed people mostly big-time politicians and actors - often don't seem to have a conscience? They do things for money or votes which no sensible person would admit to.

The newest "reality" program has young women competing to see which one can seduce a man and, unbeknownst to him but clearly known to them, the most successful seductress will win $1 million.

I'm not certain but I believe there's a term for women who would do that simply for money. I'll probably think of it eventually.

When people do almost anything in front of a camera simply to make money, isn't that almost like saying they lack a soul?

Perhaps the more primitive people knew something we don't.

How else can you explain the things so many actors and actresses are willing to do?

Would a person with a soul produce and appear in such violent movies that many adults wince at some of the sights, yet promote them in a way that is certain to attract impressionable young people into the theatres?

Did the presence of video cameras deter those high school senior girls who beat, kicked, and dumped human waste on their school mates? Or did the cameras egg them on to even more extreme action?

Fear Factor shows that people are willing, even eager, to eat live cockroaches and cow eyes if only you put them on TV.

Does this say more about them? More about the producers and programmers? Or more about us for watching?

Perhaps watching something like this is actually worse than doing it at least they are getting paid.

You can't blame this country's violent youth entirely on video games, violent movies and crappy TV, but does it say something when C.S.I. is the most popular new show on TV?

If you haven't seen it, one main attraction, according to the producers, is the extremely graphic depiction of dead bodies, the results of violence on human flesh, and even microscopically accurate investigations of bullet wounds and the results of falling 30,000 feet onto concrete?

The producers say they do this because it gets an audience. Three hundred years ago you could gather a big audience just by staging public hangings.

The truth is that people aren't going to stop watching TV so you could run almost anything on the boob tube and make money.

A cynic might point out that Imperial Rome used to throw bloody, free public exhibitions of violence and murder to distract the people from what the government was doing or failing to do.

The same cynic might point out all the things people aren't learning about how our government works.

Remember Geo. Bush Sr.'s "Read my lips, No new taxes," just before the biggest tax increase in history? How do you choose whom to vote for when you know they're probably lying? It's easier to distract most of the voters so they don't notice that the current President Bush is spending us into trillions of dollars of debt in an effort to be re-elected next year. How would it hurt the country if someone else were elected?

Were you too distracted by The Bachelor to see that massive rebuilding contracts went to Halliburton even before Bush declared victory? Did you remember know that VP Chaney was Halliburton's chairman? I'm sure there's no connection even though it often takes years to get a government contract. Fortunately, few Iraqi oil wells weren't damaged so there's lots of money available.

Was the situation so different in the first Gulf War because we wanted to teach Saudi Arabia a lesson by showing what happens if we don't protect the oil? Or, does it just look that way to the rest of the world? We did get massive permanent bases there afterward.

Saudi Arabia is our good friend but not because they have so much oil. They're just nice people. The state newspapers carry stories about Jews eating babies and praising suicide bombers. The state schools teach that killing westerners and Jews is a holy duty. Most of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudi citizens, educated in Saudi mosques. Remember that the Saudi royal family essentially owns the entire country.

But it's more fun to watch people humiliate themselves on TV than to pay attention to the world.

And it's easier to let kids witness so much TV and movie violence than spend time with them or stop buying those movie tickets.

Censorship is wrong. Self-censorship is the way we stay civilized.



		The View From Highland Ranch By John McCormick Soulless Media Many primitive tribes object to being photographed. I'm not big on it myself but that's mostly because I don't know who might still be looking for me. Jack, on the other hand, loves to have his picture taken, especially when being groomed by our comely young field hand or anyone under the age of 12. But we know that Jack can be a true jackass when it comes to getting attention for himself. And that's only right since he is a male donkey. However, the way Jack seems to perk up when a camera appears along with the way I now get recognized around town has gotten me to thinking about those primitive tribes which feel that when taking pictures of someone you are capturing their soul, or at least a piece of it. Now we're all civilized modern people so we know that's a silly superstition. But have you ever thought about the fact that the most photographed people mostly big-time politicians and actors - often don't seem to have a conscience? They do things for money or votes which no sensible person would admit to. The newest "reality" program has young women competing to see which one can seduce a man and, unbeknownst to him but clearly known to them, the most successful seductress will win $1 million. I'm not certain but I believe there's a term for women who would do that simply for money. I'll probably think of it eventually. When people do almost anything in front of a camera simply to make money, isn't that almost like saying they lack a soul? Perhaps the more primitive people knew something we don't. How else can you explain the things so many actors and actresses are willing to do? Would a person with a soul produce and appear in such violent movies that many adults wince at some of the sights, yet promote them in a way that is certain to attract impressionable young people into the theatres? Did the presence of video cameras deter those high school senior girls who beat, kicked, and dumped human waste on their school mates? Or did the cameras egg them on to even more extreme action? Fear Factor shows that people are willing, even eager, to eat live cockroaches and cow eyes if only you put them on TV. Does this say more about them? More about the producers and programmers? Or more about us for watching? Perhaps watching something like this is actually worse than doing it at least they are getting paid.		You can't blame this country's violent youth entirely on video games, violent movies and crappy TV, but does it say something when C.S.I. is the most popular new show on TV? If you haven't seen it, one main attraction, according to the producers, is the extremely graphic depiction of dead bodies, the results of violence on human flesh, and even microscopically accurate investigations of bullet wounds and the results of falling 30,000 feet onto concrete? The producers say they do this because it gets an audience. Three hundred years ago you could gather a big audience just by staging public hangings. The truth is that people aren't going to stop watching TV so you could run almost anything on the boob tube and make money. A cynic might point out that Imperial Rome used to throw bloody, free public exhibitions of violence and murder to distract the people from what the government was doing or failing to do. The same cynic might point out all the things people aren't learning about how our government works. Remember Geo. Bush Sr.'s "Read my lips, No new taxes," just before the biggest tax increase in history? How do you choose whom to vote for when you know they're probably lying? It's easier to distract most of the voters so they don't notice that the current President Bush is spending us into trillions of dollars of debt in an effort to be re-elected next year. How would it hurt the country if someone else were elected? Were you too distracted by The Bachelor to see that massive rebuilding contracts went to Halliburton even before Bush declared victory? Did you remember know that VP Chaney was Halliburton's chairman? I'm sure there's no connection even though it often takes years to get a government contract. Fortunately, few Iraqi oil wells weren't damaged so there's lots of money available. Was the situation so different in the first Gulf War because we wanted to teach Saudi Arabia a lesson by showing what happens if we don't protect the oil? Or, does it just look that way to the rest of the world? We did get massive permanent bases there afterward. Saudi Arabia is our good friend but not because they have so much oil. They're just nice people. The state newspapers carry stories about Jews eating babies and praising suicide bombers. The state schools teach that killing westerners and Jews is a holy duty. Most of the 9-11 hijackers were Saudi citizens, educated in Saudi mosques. Remember that the Saudi royal family essentially owns the entire country. But it's more fun to watch people humiliate themselves on TV than to pay attention to the world. And it's easier to let kids witness so much TV and movie violence than spend time with them or stop buying those movie tickets. Censorship is wrong. Self-censorship is the way we stay civilized. Copyright, 2003 John A. McCormick, Inc.