Eileen

change the channel by Kate MclarenI am not a writer. I will never be a writer, however, I feel myself compelled to put my views on the sad state of our society on paper. I was born in the mid eighties and during my life span, western civilization seems to have been tripping over itself in the race to attain the “perfect” lifestyle; ultimately a lifestyle full of choices. As far back as I can remember, I have been taught to think by society that my life will provide me with a feast of options and that I am damn lucky to live in this part of the world. The idea that choice equals happiness has been so ingrained into our generation that we will not be satisfied until we have the newest, best, fastest, strongest. This is incredibly convenient for the corporations pumping thousands of cell phone/car/computer models into the market. This idea not only guides us as consumers, but in all aspects of our lives. How many high school graduates have absolutely no idea what they want to be when they “grow up??” They’ve had 18 years to decide, but unfortunately most of them have been paralyzed by the number of options placed in front of them that instead of pursuing something reasonable they will probably spend the next 5 years working in a dive bar or wasting tens of thousands on post secondary “trying to figure it out.” I’m not saying that an array of options is a terrible thing; I’m just saying that it doesn’t always result in a happier way of life and that it almost always creates a state of uncomfortable paralysis. Last week I flew to New York and on my way there, the in-flight entertainment system consisted of 3 channels, none of which I really had much interest in, but I chose one and stuck to it. On the way back, however, there was a vast selection of new releases. I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to watch and therefore, spent the entire flight watching the beginnings of movies until I decided that there had to be something better out there and changed the channel. I feel like, as a culture, we have been programmed to change the channel when the going gets rough, or boring, or gains 10 pounds too many. You can always trade whatever you have for the newer model with more bells and whistles. There is no sense of commitment any more. The divorce rate has never been so high. If you don’t like your spouse, get a new one. Don’t stick around and work things out. No, that requires emotional investment and loyalty. It’s so much easier to just watch the beginning and then flip the channel. MyGen Profile Generatori like cupcakes and making out!