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| This is what we have become: bodies we feed and clothe. Where is the love? |
I remember it like it was yesterday, when most of the time at school, we used to convene as one entity and refuse to submit an exam or a quiz; especially when the teachers would treat us unfairly. In other words, our dear old fashioned teachers used to punish us with a drop quiz or test for a chapter we haven't studied previously or they haven't even explained.
We used to present plain white papers as a sign of rebellion... a silent strike... a NON VIOLENT refusal of the status quo.
Had we, unconsciously, known that rights are best fought for with an open heart and nonviolent resolution?
Today, I look at the world with sorrow.
Today, I look at my own sorrow.
And I regret....
I regret keeping silent all this time.
I regret not writing for the past couple of years.
I regret regretting my current state.
What was it that kept me silent?
What was it that shushed me down?
Is it work? Is it the chase after tomorrow?
With all certainty, I am able to answer yes.
Mass media, Social media, Electronic media, News media, Digital media.... etc. Many adjectives yet modifying one word; trying to reshape that one word; trying to hide it behind multiple choices.
Yet, the answer is one: MEDIA
Yet, the answer is one: MEDIA
Managing us
Editing us
Dissecting us
Incapacitating us
Attacking us
That is MEDIA: a monstrous fashion, a boneless creature, an eternal shadow... The grim reaper.
People bend backwards under its control. They are addicted to its charm.
Many have tried to re-read Nietzsche's famous "God is Dead". But as I deconstruct this statement, a new meaning emerges. Under the light of the all-powerful, all-knowledgeable, and all-seeing eye of the media, god translates into human (since I believe that the meaning of the word god does not emphasize anymore a divine power, rather the unexplored parts of the human thinking machine = Deus Ex Machina), and dead reads that the brain activity is kept to its prehistoric phase. In a time where most humans on earth care more about upload, download, post, reply, comment, like, share, tag, tweet and the famous update, we are safe to rewrite Neitzsche's quote: Human brain is forever numb.
Here in Iraq, the situation is an almost perfect sample to exemplify the above.
I have been experiencing a rather disturbing phenomenon. No matter what people do here, their life rotates around prayer. They measure time with every call to prayer. At the gym, many ladies stop their workout to go pray on time. At school, many kids prefer to skip recess and go pray. In Lebanon, when the clock strikes 7h40, most households (if not all) gather around the TV to watch the news. After the news come the "entertaining" shows. After the shows a rerun of the news. And so on, so forth.
It's become sickening the amount of which people rely on media. Yes, prayer is media itself. When the Sheikh or the Priest or the Rabbi preaches, aren't they repeating whatever the media has told them to say?
Don't they watch TV and follow the norm?
This thought has gone too far. I have no clue as to where it might lead next time.
This thought has gone to far, that my head is jammed now. Do I dare to say it all? Should I sugar-coat it to become "socially" shared?
Tonight, I'll prefer to stay safe. I will not upset the powers of media. Is it by choice? No! I just don't want to end up in "Room 101".
TO survive we shut down our voice. To survive we accept our rights being taken. To survive we grow up. We lose our teenage zest. We let go of our vigor (عنفوان الشباب).
And if we don't, we become the crazy ones, the institutionalized.
We become the Generation that speaks not,
The Generation that sees not,
The Generation that hears not.
We become the Generation that speaks not,
The Generation that sees not,
The Generation that hears not.
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