There's so much going on in the world today that I've found myself watching a lot of the 24-hour cable news networks in order to keep up with it all.  One minute somebody is blowing themselves up along with a bunch of other people.  The next minute a sniper is shooting at people from the trunk of a car.  BREAKING NEWS ALERT! "We have just learned that we will have a breaking news alert coming up in just a minute."  Never before have people and world events been tied so closely together.  It seems as if there's a camera in every position to catch every "breaking news alert".  It's a wonder that the Pope can go to the bathroom without CNN or FOX interrupting their regularly-scheduled programming to report it.

I have a theory that a lot of the violence and urgent sense of panic occurring in the world today would not happen if the media frenzy would diminish, simply because the media represents the golden opportunity for perpetrators to have a stage for all to see.  Watching live news has become today's preeminent soap opera.  The allure of this type of reality TV and ratings wars have prompted programmers to push the envelope to get more viewers and stir up interest.  It seems as if everything has become a "Special Report."  I remember when a network interrupting a show for a special report meant something.  Now it happens so often we become desensitized to it, or at least I have.

One of my pet peeves is the proliferation of scrolling text banners at the bottom of the screen during cable news programs.  I understand that they might serve some use for people in a bar where the sound is turned down on the TV or for the hurried airport traveler wanting to know the news of the day.  However, I think the banners do a real disservice to the main content on the screen.  Let's face it:  I'm a man and I've been told that we cannot multi-task.  How can I digest the scrolling content and also listen to main story being broadcast?  Of course, I've got a TV tuner on my computer, so I have the curse of being able to watch the news and surf the Internet at the same time.  I need something else to bombard my brain!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret here.  I have an idea for an invention that could make millions; but you've got to promise not to steal it.  I've devised a cardboard strip that fastens to the bottom of the television screen, thus obstructing the scrolling banter.  It's like 1995 all over again!   I think it could be a big asset for people with epilepsy.  I've noticed that my eyes can actually aim straight ahead for the first time in years!

I once heard somebody suggest taking a "media fast" for about a week and see how much better I would feel.  The world would not cease to rotate, nor would terrible events stop happening; but a sense of urgency would subside.  The mind would be less cluttered and perhaps more peaceful.  One does not have to be old to remember how simpler things were just a few years ago before the Internet and cable news became so prominent.  Our jobs used to take enough of our energy before world events became so immediate and dominant in the remaining free spaces of our minds.

I don't live in Maryland, but I sure felt like I was living through the nightmare its residents were experiencing during the recent shootings.  Of course, the whole world was affected somewhat by the 9-11 attacks and they have intensified our feelings of vulnerability to negative events on our respective local levels.  A climate of fear has filtered into our daily lives, and that is precisely the effectiveness of terror and what makes it so powerful.  Imagine how a media fast could reduce the widespread panic people currently encounter today.  Sure, bad things would still happen and blowing up the World Trade Centers would've still had a big effect on us even had the media not been there to report it, but a lot of the conjecture, "expert" analysis and overall fear-mongering could've been done without in my opinion.

On the other hand, having access to the media is a benefit and necessity of living in a free society.  While many news outlets are merely propaganda tools for governments around the world, and while there are also theories that there really isn't even an objective media apparatus in the U.S., knowing what is going on throughout the globe and one's neighborhood is very important.

The information issue goes beyond a media affair for me.  I think life in general has become so rushed and full of deadlines that we suffer as a result of it.  Progress is progress and we strive for technology to make our lives easier.  In many cases, technology certainly has benefited us in wonderful ways.  It's a double-edged sword though, as with greater productivity comes a harder push for even more productivity.  The world has become more about the bottom-line than ever before.  For people born today, they will know of no other way.  After all, I'm sure there were some old-timers who were overwhelmed with the changes fostered by the invention of the automobile.   For someone like myself, though, who remembers days without surfing the Net or without being able to talk on the telephone in my car, things have become a lot more complicated and not always for the better.

America is about capitalism and creating money.  Most people think that having more money will result in greater freedoms to enjoy life on a grander scale.  We do need money and it does indeed afford certain privileges that not having it would preclude.  It works both ways though.  If you're going to own a $700,000 house and fill the garage with sports cars, you will have to spend a lot of time working ridiculous hours to make it happen  (unless you are somebody like the NBA's Kevin Garnett who is in line for an absolutely ridiculous $139 million over four years for throwing a pig bladder through a metal ring).  I have friends who work twelve hour days to subsidize their lifestyles.  It's easy to look at the big houses and luxuries wistfully; but there's also a heavy price (no pun intended) to pay for such things.

Cardiac episodes are up in our world today.  Stress and greed are taking their tolls on people.  It seems as if we all want more and more things to fill our lives up.  There's nothing wrong with wanting and receiving more as long as we don't lose our souls doing it.  I'm sure there are business men working around the clock out there who really enjoy their lives and productivity levels.  More power to them!  For many though, life has become a proposition of keeping head above water and trying to make ends meet.  This goes for the high-powered attorney, money-obsessed stock broker or the fry-cook slinging hash down at the diner.  It seems as if we all live beyond our means which translates into having to work harder to finance everything.

I have some questions for you:  Do you think anybody really enjoys being a telemarketer?  Do you think anybody really enjoys talking to a telemarketer?  How many of you out there enjoy receiving junk mail in both your real mailbox and your e-mailbox?  Anybody love pop-up ads while browsing the Internet?  (Spam is a pretty useless affair both as mail or a food product).  We are inundated with pure crap because people are so damn competitive and will go to the extent of invading us at every turn just so they can make a living.  I'm all for a free society and a free marketplace.  I just lament that many people don't have a grasp of courtesy in pursuing it.

The American way has long been about having a nice home with a couple of cars in the garage and 2.5 kids to feed.  It's a great vision and totally fulfilling to many.  My Dad worked hard to take care of my family.  His crazy hours did a lot for us, but it also had many negative consequences on his health.  I can't help but wonder if there would've been positive trade-offs for a somewhat less career-oriented lifestyle.  To borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, you begin "working for the machine" and can lose yourself in the process.  For a lot of people today, a minute with nothing to do is a non-productive, and thus failed, minute.  That is unfortunate.

I've been involved in countless social situations over the years where people ask "So, what do you do?"  "Oh, I'm in the music business," I reply.  It's inevitably met with one of two responses.  "How in the world do you make a living doing that" or "I sure wish I could do that."  I interpret either answer as an expression of something missing in that person's life.  How many people go to work and genuinely enjoy their jobs?  How many are overtly creative in what they do everyday?  It is my feeling that part of why we are here is to use our powers of creativity (or discovery as the case may be) to make this world a better place.  While I think anybody can be creative no matter what work they do, some people just have not found their proper calling.  I could be wrong, but who knows?

A job as a sanitation worker might not seem particularly attractive to most of us; but I would guess that there are people out there who are "born for the job"  (I don't mean that as a put-down).  There are people out there for every vocation who can pursue it with a sense of passion and creativity which will ultimately bring happiness to their lives and brighten the world.  Unfortunately, many people are not doing this.  It takes a lot of guts and courage to go against the grain of society and live life creatively.  That's not to say that people in their preferred line of work don't have bad days either.  For me, I have plenty of tough days with a guitar in my hand.  It's all relative to our individual experiences, because I'm sure there are people out there who would look at me and say "I'd trade your tough days with the guitar for my good days working down at the bank."  As with any pursuit, there can be sacrifices and compromises as a result. Being a musician is definitely not an exception.

When musicians go to a gig, we often refer to it as "playing".  "Where are you playing this weekend Jason?"  "I'm playing at the coast Friday night."  It's when the response becomes "I'm working at the coast this weekend" when things become dissatisfying.  Being a musician does indeed involve more hard work than a lot of people realize; but the ultimate ideal experience should be one of fulfillment on some level.  This should be true for everybody and what they do on this earth, in my opinion.  I don't believe man should be idle.  We should work and be productive; but there is a balance between work and play.  Many people in this world have lost any concept of this balance.  As a result, we push ourselves harder and harder to be more productive in the ways that can have detrimental results.  Too much information and technology contributes a great deal to this condition.

I know that I am not alone in feeling this way about things.  I have heard the same opinions from people I know and admire.  It's very hard for some people to make fundamental lifestyle changes in order to become happier.  What's more difficult to do:  go to college for several years, get a degree and get a high-paying job with long hours or become an artist of some sort making less money but gaining perhaps a greater sense of satisfaction?  Neither scenario is necessarily better or worse than the other; but there are a lot of people out there who might be surprised at what they find down the road less traveled.  Each path has its own unique set of challenges and compromises.

Life isn't all fun and games; but a lot of it is a result of choices we make.  There are always going to be things we have to do that we don't want to do.  The diabetic will always have to take his insulin at a certain deadline.  He can choose not to do it, but there will be consequences. The clothes will need to be washed and the dishes have to be cleaned.  We can choose not to do them; but we'd be better off if we completed the tasks.  Not to state the obvious, because it's actually not obvious to some:  We have a lot of control over a lot of our choices in life.

To sum it all up, I think we'd be a lot better off if our general lifestyle paces were less hectic and not governed as much by deadlines and bottom lines.  This is all idealistic, I know; but I genuinely believe there's truth in this viewpoint.  We should embrace information and technology while also finding the time to get away from them into a more peaceful state of mind.  A media fast might not be such a bad idea.  One shouldn't become lazy because humans were not designed to be that way.  Laziness comes when people have not found their passion in life.  There's nothing wrong with taking a day to do absolutely nothing.  The kind of laziness I'm alluding to is more chronic in nature.  The opposite end of the spectrum is when people do too much.  Balance is the key.  I'm still working on it myself.

Working hard can be a good thing.  My most rewarding days are when I have exhausted myself while doing something productive related to the passions in my life.  I sleep much more peacefully those particular nights.  Then there are days where I need to get away from even the things I love and recharge my mental batteries.  Here's hoping that people can find their ways to more peaceful and fulfilling lives.
 

Jason