When I was in high school we called our school "The Pine View Bubble Dome." Pine View is a school for gifted students in Florida. It is a public magnet school that requires specialized IQ testing before a student can enroll. We referred to Pine View in this manner, because the school was composed of a 95% WASP population. There was rarely a fight or any type of violent drama, which was not the case at the other nearby schools. Events at my school took place within the confines of the campus, which really made it feel like we were all in our own community--a small world isolated from the rest of the "real world."
This week, I watched Zuckerman (Yes, I know; ANOTHER post about Zuckerman!?) on his TED video, and I couldn't help but be reminded of the Pine View Bubble Dome when he spoke about xenophiles. Is America xenophobic? Is that why our news/media is so focused on US-based national stories rather than globally-based international ones? Does this further explain our fears about immigration? Our adversity to foreign films? Our reluctance to experience ethnic foods? Our lack of acceptance for non-conforming religions?
Perhaps we ought to remember where our country came from. America is a melting pot of races, religions, cultures, and traditions from all over the world. That is what makes us so great, right? Are we afraid that exposing ourselves to global influence might change that? Does that even make sense?
My "Aha" this week, thanks to Zuckerman, comes from the realization that we are living in our own US Bubble Dome. (To a certain degree, we even live in our own Kansas City Bubble Dome. Just look at this Breaking News top stories from one of our local news station's website: http://www.kmbc.com/news/25665092/detail.html) International news is incredibly important, yet it rarely sees the front page of the newspaper in any city in America. And try to see what's happening in other countries during the 6:00 news...yeah, right. Heck, even CNN--perhaps the most globally-conscientious news network--dedicated less than 3 minutes out of the 60 minutes of news I watched today to what was happening in other countries. That's nuts. We really are living in a bubble dome.
I appreciate your thoughts. Having spent time overseas, I have seen how in other countries world news is really " world news". Try listening to the BBC sometime. As a former member of the military, I get angry when the latest blunder of some movie star gets the nightly news lead, and more time, than an attack on one of our bases overseas. In an era of social media, it seems that as a society, we are leaning toward being more interested in Paris Hilton than a Hilton that was bombed in Paris (there wasn't, just making a point).
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I watch BBC news at night and sometimes early in the morning. That's the only time I can ever really catch it. NPR broadcasts BBC News after midnight, as well, which is always great. I agree with you about the Hilton Paris/Paris Hilton bit. Kinda nuts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think that Americans are very ego-centric. As a whole, we want to live in our little isolated world where celebrities, sports and political scandals are the extent of our focus. Oblivion is the key to fictitious happyness.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and so very true. One great thing about the iPhone is you can install news apps like the BBC to find out what is really happening outside of our bubble. It's so essential to know the world, because they sure know about us!
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