So while I was sprinkling some rosemary (fresh) and parsley (dried, and from approximately the time of Cleopatra) on potatoes last night, I was thinking about blogging.
Is it the trend that it currently is not because of rampant narcissism (although that's an easy argument to make) but because of the need to respond to a glut of information? And not even good information - what I was thinking about is how you can't view TV or a newspaper without catching a glimpse of some inane star spewing their views for the rest of us, as if their ideas matter now because they were in, say, Ya-Ya Sisterhood. If any famous face with a camera can get her opinion out to the entire world, why shouldn't the little people, too? And we can, on a blog.
Those of us who are not famous - because our daily routines consist of cooking potatoes instead of making movies - have ideas, too. And, for the most part, I would have to argue that our ideas are more firmly rooted in the real world than those that come out of more stylish heads. So why shouldn't we also have a forum to share our thoughts? I can listen to a politician with whom I vehemently disagree, and while I may get a little riled, it never makes me want to stand up and shout (read: sit down and type) the truth like when I hear a celebrity tell us how to think, or even worse, to deride the side that disagrees as idiotic, uninformed, and self-destructive. Those who hold power, or aspire to it, in our country have every right to enter the public discussion. But those who have attained mere visibility ought to keep their pretty mouths shut, since they honestly do not know what they're talking about, and sadly, hold more power of influence than the people who do.
I'm not really liking how this is sounding typed out - a little bitter and somewhat fascist. !!! It's not - I just get annoyed that celebrities assume that their opinion ought to hold such weight in our society. I think it's a misuse of their fame, and that it only supports and expands our shallow celebrity culture.
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2 comments:
Kate, I agree! I saw once a comparison of the hollywood politicos and their relative education levels compared to that of say the President and his cabinet - high school diplomas and multiple drop-outs vs. multiple Ivy League credentials. I also like reading the family blog - despite my predicitions that have been wildly and thankfully wrong. We can all be famous and opinionated on the www (Dan sends)
Hmmm...this is something I've been thinking about as well. I'm not so sure that blogging instigates the narcissism often witnessed on the web, but it does provide a vehicle for its display, and a tempting argument that virtual communication is "real" communication--which for people who can better express themselves in writing than in spoken words, may actually be the case. I agree with Emily that the family blog gives us all an opportunity to communicate at leisure, and to appreciate the varied and hilarious personalities of our family, and to provide those of us who may be aspiring writers an audience that would have been impossible just about ten years ago. I do think the web is the champion of the little guy--and also a good filter to weed out the good little guy from the bad. It's a perfect case of supply and demand. If it's good, the readers will be there in volume, if not, you can rely on a couple of girlfriends and maybe some relatives to read--which for its "community" aspect, isn't all bad.
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