Just how bad are things in our economy right now? We've all heard the horror stories about Random House restructuring.We've all heard that the once impervious publishing industry has taken a major hit due to the bleak economy and the recession.Recession.It's a dirty 10 letter word that "describes the reduction of a country's gross domestic product" [Wikipedia].And books, just another product put out by just another big business industry, have been slammed.All the reports indicate that the recession we're in isn't going to end anytime soon.But is it really the recession that's to blame for where the publishing industry is right now, or is it our country's cultural decline [meaning the moral, social, and behavioral condition of our society, e.G.Our 'values']? To me, that's a far bigger issue that recession.Books encourage learning and curiosity and passion and our minds.We need books!When the average US child watches 4 hours of television a day [which has been proven to put them in a state similar to hypnosis], is it a wonder that obesity [hence type 2 diabetes, before a rarity in children, but now an epidemic] rates continue to be on the rise, that SAT scores continue to decline, that full days can be spent wasted on the internet, that our children's [and many, many adult's] expectations and perceptions of the female body and of sex have become skewed because of pornography on the internet?The fallout of our cultural decline means that our youth is getting their world experience from Gossip Girls [the TV show] and the like instead of Tom Sawyer and The Hardy Boys.Is Gossip Girls becoming the real world? Which came first, the chicken, or the egg?Many parents try to offer their children opportunities to see and know true stories.Opportunities to enlighten their kids and show them humanity and compassion rather than the self-centered value we've come to place on self-expression.Hannah Montana and American Idol won't show us the real world or the true human experience.They won't expose us to life outside of our safe bubbles or teach us or model tolerance or compassion or love.Sure they save us from boredom, but really, where is the value? Again, don't get me wrong, I love a good TV show or an engaging movie.My daughter watches Wizards of Waverly Place.My son's watch, egads, The Family Guy [they're teenagers].The internet offers us all quick and efficient ways to communicate with friends and family, it gives us research and information, right at our fingertips, but it also strips us of the interaction that used to be necessary to achieve the same things.Gone is the human connection.Hours in front of a TV or commuter [writing time aside] every day? Uh-uh.There's not enough time.And there are too many other fascinating things to do, read about, experience.Music to play.Too many issues that to be understood.Too much about the human condition that needs to be explored.As I observe my children's school-one of the institutions that used to be free of televisions, and a place that should be passionate about instilling a love of learning and a passion for exploration of ideas, one question comes to mind. Since when is mediocrity something to embrace and celebrate? How is a love for learning being instilled here? Where is the vibrant environment, the passion, the architectural development of the soul? Why is everything test oriented, right down to the Accelerated Reading program which sucks the joy of reading for reading's sake right out of the process? When did we stop teaching our kids-and ourselves-how to think and feel and act? How is our social and emotional culture being nurtured? When did so many parents and so many schools and such a big part of our society stop striving for excellence?I was so thrilled when I read that the National Endowment for the Arts recently released a new report saying that "More Americans adults read literature".And, even better than that, the report goes on to say that "the biggest increases among young adults, ages 18-24".For two decades, the number of readers has been declining.Now, despite our bleak economy and the recession, despite our cultural decline, that trend is reversing.Maybe there's hope after all.I should add here that I'm not pointing fingers; I'm only trying to make a point that we have to stand up.We have to demand excellence.We have to want more for ourselves and our children, and for human kind.We have to have higher expectations.I'm a parent and a teacher and a writer.Do I make mistakes? Yes! Do I have weaknesses? Too many to count.But will I ever give up trying to overcome mediocrity and trying to better the human condition and build up the culture within my own family? Never!And I'll never stop loving books and the way they can make me see things in a new light, take me places I couldn't have gone in any other way, and expose me to ideas that I couldn't have thought of on my own.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Cultural Decline and the Publishing Industry
Just how bad are things in our economy right now? We've all heard the horror stories about Random House restructuring.We've all heard that the once impervious publishing industry has taken a major hit due to the bleak economy and the recession.Recession.It's a dirty 10 letter word that "describes the reduction of a country's gross domestic product" [Wikipedia].And books, just another product put out by just another big business industry, have been slammed.All the reports indicate that the recession we're in isn't going to end anytime soon.But is it really the recession that's to blame for where the publishing industry is right now, or is it our country's cultural decline [meaning the moral, social, and behavioral condition of our society, e.G.Our 'values']? To me, that's a far bigger issue that recession.Books encourage learning and curiosity and passion and our minds.We need books!When the average US child watches 4 hours of television a day [which has been proven to put them in a state similar to hypnosis], is it a wonder that obesity [hence type 2 diabetes, before a rarity in children, but now an epidemic] rates continue to be on the rise, that SAT scores continue to decline, that full days can be spent wasted on the internet, that our children's [and many, many adult's] expectations and perceptions of the female body and of sex have become skewed because of pornography on the internet?The fallout of our cultural decline means that our youth is getting their world experience from Gossip Girls [the TV show] and the like instead of Tom Sawyer and The Hardy Boys.Is Gossip Girls becoming the real world? Which came first, the chicken, or the egg?Many parents try to offer their children opportunities to see and know true stories.Opportunities to enlighten their kids and show them humanity and compassion rather than the self-centered value we've come to place on self-expression.Hannah Montana and American Idol won't show us the real world or the true human experience.They won't expose us to life outside of our safe bubbles or teach us or model tolerance or compassion or love.Sure they save us from boredom, but really, where is the value? Again, don't get me wrong, I love a good TV show or an engaging movie.My daughter watches Wizards of Waverly Place.My son's watch, egads, The Family Guy [they're teenagers].The internet offers us all quick and efficient ways to communicate with friends and family, it gives us research and information, right at our fingertips, but it also strips us of the interaction that used to be necessary to achieve the same things.Gone is the human connection.Hours in front of a TV or commuter [writing time aside] every day? Uh-uh.There's not enough time.And there are too many other fascinating things to do, read about, experience.Music to play.Too many issues that to be understood.Too much about the human condition that needs to be explored.As I observe my children's school-one of the institutions that used to be free of televisions, and a place that should be passionate about instilling a love of learning and a passion for exploration of ideas, one question comes to mind. Since when is mediocrity something to embrace and celebrate? How is a love for learning being instilled here? Where is the vibrant environment, the passion, the architectural development of the soul? Why is everything test oriented, right down to the Accelerated Reading program which sucks the joy of reading for reading's sake right out of the process? When did we stop teaching our kids-and ourselves-how to think and feel and act? How is our social and emotional culture being nurtured? When did so many parents and so many schools and such a big part of our society stop striving for excellence?I was so thrilled when I read that the National Endowment for the Arts recently released a new report saying that "More Americans adults read literature".And, even better than that, the report goes on to say that "the biggest increases among young adults, ages 18-24".For two decades, the number of readers has been declining.Now, despite our bleak economy and the recession, despite our cultural decline, that trend is reversing.Maybe there's hope after all.I should add here that I'm not pointing fingers; I'm only trying to make a point that we have to stand up.We have to demand excellence.We have to want more for ourselves and our children, and for human kind.We have to have higher expectations.I'm a parent and a teacher and a writer.Do I make mistakes? Yes! Do I have weaknesses? Too many to count.But will I ever give up trying to overcome mediocrity and trying to better the human condition and build up the culture within my own family? Never!And I'll never stop loving books and the way they can make me see things in a new light, take me places I couldn't have gone in any other way, and expose me to ideas that I couldn't have thought of on my own.
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