We know many of their names. We know their customs, their glories, their defeats. At any given moment, there is a human being admiring the massive enduring structures built in the pharaohs' honor. In books, in films, online or in person, these structures stand as testaments to one of the most influential and enduring cultures to ever to walk on Earth's soil.
Years from now, whether it be 300 or 300,000, anthropologists will descend upon the ruins of the great American Republic. The sight of out monuments and our buildings and the tributes to our heroes may impress them...but it will not be what they want to learn about.
They will want to know about us; We, the people, as a wise man once collectively referred to us as. Future generations will want to know who the citizens of the most powerful nation at the turn of the turn of the second millennium were. How they lived their daily lives, how they dealt with the surreality of the world around them, how they participated in the Great American Experiment.
Thankfully, unlike our Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Ancient Chinese counterparts, the second millennium Americans now possess the technology and the wherewithal to publish and record their history, their impressions and beliefs on the political and cultural backdrop of their nation. The mass media has now given us the chance that maybe, just maybe our words can endure forever.
So that brings me here. Welcome, Planet Earth, to my little corner of the internet. I hope you enjoy your stay. I am an American and I am an active part of the Western culture that those curious anthropologists will be so damn interested in one day.
I am an 18 year old student of the E.W Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. The goal of this blog is not to rave and it is not to rant. The goal of this blog is to add one more voice (albeit a quiet one) to the world's collective unconscious: the mass media. Carl Jung once theorized that we all draw from a pool of universal symbols and ideas deep in the dark corners of our minds that allows every human being on planet Earth to share in the same experiences. Now psychologically, philosophically and biologically speaking I am sure this idea is as wildly wrong as it is interesting and intriguing. But I believe technology and the journalistic spirit to share information and offer analysis has connected us in a way that would shock even Mr. Jung, himself.
Case in point: today. The date of my first post of this blog is very deliberate. September 11th. Seven years ago, every man, woman and child in the world experienced something huge and every man, woman and child experienced something huge together. We all watched, listened read and felt together the events of that day. We heard the panicked cries of innocents in the streets on radio broadcasts, watched the never-ending coverage of tragedy of television and read about heroics, motivations and the stark finality and pain of death in newspapers, magazines and online articles. I myself, wrote a poem. The quality and content of said poem is not significant, but what is is the significance. That poem made me realize that we all have a stake in the world around us. And that we all have the means and the mediums to express ourselves, offer our perspectives and provide others with new information.
This day seven years ago all put our lives on different paths. My path was to invest myself in harboring my writing, reporting and explaining to provide future generations with information and ideas. To be a citizen. To be a writer. To be a journalist.
Henceforth, I will offer my perspective on this crazy American life we all live. I will write about the media, the American political machine, entertainment, sports and maybe even a humorous anecdote or two about college life.
I encourage everyone to enjoy the rest of their day, reflect on the events that changed all our lives and of course, stop by again sometime to read a different perspective on all the subjects that concern us as a society...but hopefully with more jokes next time.
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