I think Erin is going to do well in college. We will need many more Millennials like her to get us through this Fourth Turning with a positive outcome. Here is her paper for her freshman College Writing course.
Guest Post by BostonBob’s daughter Erin
George Saunders discusses the idea of a man with a megaphone drowning out all other voices in his essay “The Braindead Megaphone”. His omnipresence reaches each corner of the metaphorical party he attends. The sheer volume of his voice effects each of the party goers and their conversations due to the fact that they cannot produce any original thought over the musings of the man with the megaphone. This man is a symbol for the media that encompasses every day life. The numerous sources of information that bombard anyone who owns a television or has an internet connection can shape the discussions and opinions they have(Saunders 240). The Megaphone Man isn’t just the collective voice of the media; it is the surrounding people and environment that also contribute to the spreading of ideas.
George Saunders defines “…the Megaphone as the composite of the hundreds of voices we hear each day that come to us from people we don’t know, via high-tech sources…”(244). Saunders discussed is that the media is the equivalent of the megaphone man, however, the media is not just one man. While the man at the party is a singular being, the news is broadcasted from many outlets. Newspapers, journals, blogs, and television networks are only some of the ways people acquire news. Moreover, these media outlets are each a mass of people, news stations, reporters, along with online sources adding to these enormous information outlet. There is a hierarchy to the large news corporations that decide what will sell over what is important knowledge for the public.
The composite of voices, Saunders believes, is the collective sound of people behind the screens used by society on a daily basis. These “high tech sources” are full of people we may recognize but don’t know personally, however, information is learned by people we know as well. The ratings and approvals of news stories is more important than the relevancy or knowledge they supply. It is in the public’s sight around the clock whether they seek it out or not. One may not have an opinion on an issue, but it is almost guaranteed they have been exposed to it one way or another.
My tiny town is set half an hour from Boston. It is filled with like minded people who bond over the similarities of their views and opinions. While many kids in school find themselves unconcerned with politics they may have more opinions than they realize. They are engulfed in a media rich world which gives them insight into current affairs, as well as attending a school full of opinionated peers and living in a home with opinionated parents. Many students discussed their views in class by prefacing their ideas with “Well my parents think…” or “My mom told me…” and it was clear that this influence is huge.
The loudest megaphone that Saunders neglects to discuss is the environment each person is surrounded with. Parents lay the foundation for their children’s beliefs by molding them with ideas of their own. High schoolers often find the opinions of their friends at school matter to them and they match their own ideals. Children in my town are raised in a place where most people agree with the values of their parents. They are sent to a school full of teachers who will preach the same ideals, and are surrounded with other children who were raised the same way. These children all in turn bond over their ability to spit out what their guardians have planted in their heads, and the similarity of the roots.
Not only are the students of my hometown being born into certain opinions, they do not question what they’ve been told. Not every child is going to question the knowledge they gain from their parents because of the close relationship and trust that is built between them. Saunders extends his argument against the Megaphone Man by stating his “…responses are predicated not on his intelligence, his unique experience of the world, his powers of contemplation, or his ability with language, but on the volume and omnipresence of his voice”(240).
The people who are relaying their beliefs onto the youth may have some life experience, but they may not have any intelligence or ability to contemplate what they’ve heard themselves. Their children develop the habit of accepting information from sources that their community deems respectable. These people are a neverending sphere of influence.
The cycle that continues in small towns like mine perpetuates a common thought. Anyone who disagrees is an outsider labeled as confused or plainly wrong. In my physics class my junior year of high school there was clear tension between my liberal teacher and a conservative peer. Before every class my teacher would instigate a debate going as far as ordering a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama and placing it in front of the student’s desk. After weeks of passive aggressive comments and arguments the student was sent to the office. He had a choice to sit quietly but there is no reason a teacher should be antagonizing a member of their class.
This occurrence was met with a quiet response from other students due to the anxiety of being punished themselves. This demonstration and subsequent fear further leads to young people not expressing their beliefs or questioning those of authority. Constant information is fed into minds which doesn’t allow for original ideas to last. Saunders explains that the Megaphone Man’s voice overtakes entirety of conversation leaving nothing but his own words to discuss: “They’ll stop doing what guests are supposed to do: keep the conversation going per their own interest and concerns. They’ll become passive, stop believing in the validity of their own impressions. They may not even notice they’ve started speaking in his diction…”(240).
Not only are the conversations steered one way, but people who desire a change of subject lack the confidence and support to change the path of discussion. They also are at risk of losing the ability to discuss their own interests.
This environment is all encompassing and it leads to people who only seek out news that agrees with their views and ignore the sources saying otherwise. George Saunders would urge the people of my town to pop their surrounding bubble and question what they hear, instead of assuming that all of their favorite authors and anchors are the most intelligent providers(248).
Instead of following the flow of information people need to break from tradition and form their own opinions. News sources and relatives alike need to be questioned for their reputation and validity. Many people base their opinions on the man with the loudest megaphone and disagree just to disagree or agree to fit in. Whether one’s opinion coincides with the views of the majority or not, the public needs to ensure they are receiving intelligent information that is the foundation for their unique opinions.
Works Cited
Saunders, George. “The Braindead Megaphone.” Other Words. Ed. David Fleming. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2009. 239-248. Print.
+1
Good on Bob for raising such a child… and a well written piece, as well.
This sort of jumped out at me: “Parents lay the foundation for their children’s beliefs by molding them with ideas of their own.”
True, to a point. I can’t speak for any other 13ers, but I rejected my father’s beliefs and ideas out of hand. Lots of antagonism there.
It wasn’t till much later – 20+ years – that I realized daddy was right. In fact, I went out of my way to apologize to him and to tell him he was right about 99% of the things he tried to tell me. I was just too damn stubborn to accept what he was saying. I’m glad I got to apologize to him before he passed on and give him a measure of vindication…
Still, a damn good effort by Erin… well done.
That was an excellent analysis. I have never heard of the megaphone man meme before.
Billy,
Many thanks. I have had the great fortune to have two wonderful children as I have bragged about here before. I often challenged them on what they were thinking, rarely in a negative way, hopefully in a constructive way. My biggest fear was that they would have the ability to think for themselves wrung out of them in the uber liberal town we chose to live in. Fortunately this did not happen. You may ask why we would stay in such a liberal town. It is typical for Massachusetts, all of the towns with the best schools are extremely liberal. My children took the opportunity to get an excellent high school education which will serve them well in the future. I accomplished my goal of making sure they listened to their inner voice and were not brainwashed as so many are, and so easily. As she said much of this lies at the feet of the parents. You will never find so many well educated, stupid people, as you will find in Massachusetts, there is nothing more closed minded than a Massachusetts liberal. Such as it is there are endless opportunities get well educated if you chose to.
I finished shingling the gable end of the house last weekend. My kids see this and understand what hard work really is. I think it gives them an appreciation for what they have. This goes a long ways to understanding the difference of the liberal utopia foisted upon them in school and the every day realities of life or at least I like to think so.
Bob.
hsf,
Here is the link to the PDF that she sent me with the story.
http://as1020.pbworks.com/f/saunders-braindead.pdf
Bob
Bostonbob, everyone else-
Has anyone else noticed the recent verbal tick where every single sentence from the younger set begins with the word “so” ? It has replaced “like” and “you know” as the go to phrase of the moment.
NPR is especially egregious with this one.
@ Bob
Not a problem bro… And no need to thank me for anything. I give credit where it’s due – your daughter is the one who hit the home run.
Kids are especially adept at smelling bullshit. This ability to recognize and call bullshit when they see it is drummed out of them by the school system and is pretty much dead by the time they graduate high school.
I’m trying to keep that ability alive in my son. Don’t take anything as gospel – even the stuff I tell him. Use it as a guide, but in the end, he will have to make up his mind on his own, based on his own life experiences. Don’t parrot anything anyone tells you – questioning it will drive him to find out things for himself. Not talking about things like how to drive a nail properly or prune trees or reload spent cases. Those are absolutes. I mean most of the squishy stuff he runs into in school. We call that “The other side of the story” here at the doomstead…
And if something doesn’t pass the smell test, then by all means call them on their bullshit. If there is a doubt, then there is a doubt. To keep silent is to give tacit approval to whatever they’re putting down…
Keep on keeping on Bob… we’re having a bonfire tonight, so I have to get back out to the east field…
If she is a real thinker, an open-minded young lady(as I believe she is), she will not be accepted(philosophically) at a college in the Boston area. Get her the hell outta there ASAP! Great article, BTW.
Hardscrabble Farmer –
Yes, I have noticed that. Sentences that begin with the word, “So…..”
I often use it myself. I kind of like it, but as you mention, it’s a verbal tic. Maybe it’s laziness on my part.I don’t know where it came from or when it was first utilized.
There’s a quiz show on NPR on Saturday afternoons about the origins of words. That’d be a good stumper for them.
hardscrabble…
I think that’s happened since the origin of the spoken word. 🙂
The southern Germans have a habit of putting the phrase “nah ja?” at the end of almost every sentence. After 5 years over there, even I had fallen into the habit of doing that… even when speaking English.
Still, if “so” has replaced “like” and “you know” then it is a welcome change… until we get tired of it…
Now if we can only cure a certain demographic of saying “gnomesayin'” and “ya feel me?”…..
I think it’s a delay tactic to give the speaker time to organize a response because there is always a delay and a long flattening of the word, Sooooooo…..
I listened to this show today, its filled with it.
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-10-22/women-and-online-harassment
Although I don’t have any kids I do have 2 nephews that I encourage to think outside of the box.The oldest has heard me tell him many times, ” Don’t believe everything you think”.
Buckhed – is Pirate Jo your sister?
Good job Ms Erin. Keep thinking independently!
LLPOH……nope.
There’s an edited version of this essay as well, but thank you to all for the feedback!
Llpoh,
I think I get it, ” don’t have kids” according to PJ. Llpoh I am going to guess but for me, my kids are the best things (besides my wife ) that ever happened to both my and your life. We all have tremendous life adventures, each as individual as our personalities. What you have written about your son making it into a number 1 NCAA program must make you feel you have done well by the children, that you consciously brought into this world.
Just got off the phone with my daughter, she says thank you and is off to do her Chinese homework. She thinks I can still learn another language. I am not so sure.
Bob
HAHA ,
First father and daughter posting. Please feel free to fling, we Scottish can handle whatever you dish out.
Bob.
Boston – you caught the reference! Not sure Buckhed did!
The NCAA experiment may be about to implode. They have been making my son play severely injured. A second opinion we got independently says they are risking crippling him. What started out as a minor injury – minor inflammation – has developed into a potentially severe problem owing to the school’s failure to treat/diagnose/rehabilitate the injury. It took them 8 weeks to run proper testing, which they then mis-read (intentionally, I am certain). I had told my son to get a second opinion during week 1, but his coach told him that they would no longer allow him access to trainers/rehab/etc. if he did that.
We finally forced through a second opinion of the recent test results via our long-term sport physician, who wrote a long letter to the team, stating what must be done immediately. The team doc said that they disagreed with the diagnosis, but surprise surprise they are following his recommendations to the letter.
Our doctor said that is what they would do. He said that once they were on notice that they were taking a severe risk of long-term injury, they would fold like a cheap tent. He said that the NCAA docs can survive a “mis-diagnosis”, as most of the tests are open to various interpretations, but their asses would be drawn and quartered if they ignored a warning and the student athlete then suffered a severe injury as a result.
It is despicable. He is now off for some months, and will miss most, if not all the season. He would have missed 2 weeks if they had done their jobs properly. He is considering his position. We are not tied to the decision financially – it was more the opportunity to play that was the issue. But we do not trust the system. It is set up to screw the players. They just burn through the players. Last year almost 700 NCAA Div 1 basketball players left their teams via attrition, not graduation. There are 13 players to a team, and around 300 teams, so each team loses on average more than 2 kids per year. On average, with no turnover, each team would only recruit around 3 players per year. So the attrition rate last year was around 2/3. We knew it was like that, and got great advice, but a kid’s aspirations need support. Looks likely we will fall into the 2/3 category. It is a crap shoot at best.
So far, we are aware of several severe breaches of NCAA regs that the school has committed. It really is unbelievable what they do. I doubt any school can withstand proper scrutiny. It is a national disgrace.
Boston – based on my recent Scotland trip, anything we may fling, you Scots may eat. Those bastards will eat anything!
Thank you for sharing this article. It reminds me that the Admin’s purpose here is to provide folks with an alternative to the mind-numbing blather that passes for news and investigative journalism in the corporate owned media.
My co-worker needs to have the blabber-box on all day. I would be a nicer person here if I didn’t come home pissed off about hearing the same single story repeated every five minutes all day long. In the morning the woman said, something like: transpiring real time right now..
Later, the dude repeats the story they have been chewing on all day like it was a rawhide bone, we can now reveal there was one person killed…
Maybe I need to apologize o Stuck and I-S for being in a foul mood all month but I’ve been on the edge with the continual garbage on the tube all day. It’s not like I can log on to TBP during the day and shoot the breeze or vent. By the time I get home (at this time) everyone is all talked out, everyone had their say and moved on to another yammer session while I try to play catch up. Good thing admin keeps the site up all day.
Once again, thanks, Bob, Erin and everyone else. We have a new contributor, WOW. Welcome!
Oops, I forgot why I mentioned Stuck and I-S: I was feeling they were acting like TBP opinion overlords, taking it upon themselves to decide what is acceptable to say and what is current thought-crime. I’m sure that is not the case. Llpoh explained that a shitfest is a natural result of honest disagreement like sex is the natural result of lovemaking; its not kosher to think you can just jump in the sack, just ask Maggie.
The fact that in Amerika we place such high value on a game we play as children, but lose our bearing as a nation is a disgrace. Bread and circuses are the rule of the day. To participate in the system, is to support it.
I read all the threads and here all the regulars complain about this and that, but this thread takes the cake. Don’t cry about how the country is going down the shit shoot when you send your kids off to play war, or sports. It is the same thing. They are being exploited, feeding the system and the beast.
The only way to win, is to not play the game… So feeding your kids to the army. or feeding your kids to the NCAA is the same thing. Feeding the beast. Don’t be surprised when they get chewed up and spit out.
HSF,
Yes, I’ve been bitching to my wife about the yutes starting every sentence with “so”. Especially on NPR. They have various other verbal tics that drive me crazy – and I’m not just talking about “This American Life” where they all sound like fags. Listening to NPR should only be done by those who can sift through their biases. It’s like taking some kind of drug that would kill a weaker person. BostonBob, you got a sharp daughter on your hands. I’m trying to start a new verbal trend, where people start every sentence with “nigga please”.
@ Erin
Nice essay. Keep an open mind. Always. If something makes you go “hmmmm,” then check it out. Tackle tough, important, and complex subjects (national security, energy, etc) and dig, dig, dig to answer your questions about same.
I have a granddaughter in college about your age, and she’s nobody’s fool. Very smart and independent. And not afraid to confront dictators in the classroom. I like to think that those traits can be traced back to her Papa.
Llpoh did not send him to NCAA, the kid has a dream, dear old dad was only being supportive and helpful. Anyone would wish they had Llpoh for a dad.
“Don’t cry about how the country is going down the shit shoot ….”
—-Winston
Not even close, except phonetically. It’s chute, not shoot.
Aw, chute, I was gonna point that typo out
“Based on my recent Scotland trip, anything we may fling, you Scots may eat. Those bastards will eat anything!”
—-Llpoh
Not only that, they invented golf and think music comes out of a bagpipe.
OK LPOH…I guess I missed Pirate Jo’s comments in the past…not sure what they have to do with not having kids?
I of course don’t due to life’s circumstances. So I enjoy making sure that my nephews read stuff other than the garbage that they are fed in school. My oldest nephew just got just got finished reading Henry Hazlitt’s book ” Economics In One Lesson ” . His next book I hope will be, ” The Road To Serfdom “. I hope to always be a good influence on their lives…since I don’t have kids they may decide what nursing home I’m going into one day ! LOL
Buckhed – Pirate Jo’s catchphrase to any issue is “Don’t have kids!”. It is a running joke around here.- a funny one at that.
If the issue is ebola, “Don’t have kids” says PJ.
Taxes too high? Don’t have kids?
Not getting any nookie – “Don’t have kids!”
Education system sucks – DHK!
etc etc etc.
EC – Thanks for the kind words.
That dream is starting to fog over for my son. He seems to be pretty level headed, and has decided the risk will be to high relative to the reward. The plan is finish the year and call it a day re NCAA sports. It is very common these days (very sad for those who need the money for school). When the coaches’ livelihoods depend on winning, you can imagine how they treat the kids when push comes to shove.
Playing high level sports is hard work, and involves injury. No way to avoid that. The risks have to be managed. But the coaches and medicos for these universities are not managing – they push until you break, then push some more. If you totally disintegrate, they get another one to fill your spot.
Llpoh,
Too funny. Sadly many today really should not have kids, maybe not always the ones who choose not to. I think that people are not born good parents, but they make themselves good parents through hard work and maybe some good fortune. I hope all works out best for your son. I am sure he has the best parents looking out for him. As for we Scots, well we eat what ever is necessary to survive. Remember if it is not Scottish it’s crap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seN7AKSwMFU&feature=player_detailpage
Bob.
Funny that you expose a real scandal and Winston, who is really a smart fellow, misses the point and by a country mile. I don’t mean to pick a fight with him but my bs alarm went off, sorry
EC – winston may not understand the training, hours, sacrifices kids go through in order to get good enough at a sport to be able to win an NCAA scholarship. Unless the kid is an extreme athletic talent like Lebron- and mine is not – dedication is the only way to make it happen.
A lot of pride comes with those accomplishments. A lot of mental toughness. They develop a work ethic. They learn to overcome adversity.
While other kids were screwing around, my son was up at 4:30 to go train with specialist coaches. While others were out weekend nights, he was getting ready for games. He had to be organized and ready. He trained year around for years. He had a goal. He reached it. He did not do as much in university as he hoped. His body in the end failed him. It happens – and it was always the biggest risk. Basketball is brutally hard on the body, especially at elite levels.
Playing throughout his entire college career would have been great – but not if it meant severe risk of long-term injury. That is too high a price to pay. We well understood what we were getting into – we knew the risks, and our eyes were wide open. It was even more brutal than we thought it would be.
It will not harm our family in any way, but there are thousands of families being hurt by the behavior of coaches/schools – they are deprived of the opportunity for an education. The schools really need to stop doing it.
What is Erin’s take on the Collapse of Industrial Civilization?
RE
A quibble: Erin’s editor missed the use of “effects” when it should be “affects” in the first paragraph. (If self-edited, this just highlights how we all publish errors when we try to catch our own miscues.)
Our kids are a reflection of us as parents.
Few kids’ parents question the dominant narratives because few of their parents do so. There’s a reason most people are “the masses.” It’s a numbers thing, right?
Many people have a hard time now accepting silence during conversations, so they insert nonsense words or “ahhhhhhhh” to fill any voids. I suspect this is because we’re all so used to conversations where ALL of us are just waiting for our turn to talk, rather than actually LISTENING to the other person. Silence is an invitation to being interrupted, sadly.
Llpoh,
Of the students in NCAA sports, how many are actually “getting educations?”
When universities now offer “degrees” in fields of study that are better seen as hobbies, and even several traditional fields are highly questionable (sociology? econ? social work?)
Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’ve not seen lots of young adults in NCAA sports getting degrees in chemistry, engineering, or anything that (in theory) imparts knowledge that is useful in subsequent endeavors.
For the record, my two Computer Science grad sons both inform me that little they studied in college translated even marginally to what they do as programmers for a major corporation.
BTW. College today is justified by a sample selection error idiocy.
“Everyone” publishes that the lifetime earnings of college grads is some large % higher than non-college grads.
What’s wrong with this?
A few years ago it was discovered that the incomes of people who ATTENDED Harvard Business School for an MBA were statistically the same as those who were ACCEPTED, but didn’t attend it.
The same is doubtlessly true of college vs non-college. College grads simply have higher average IQ’s. This fact alone in all likelihood accounts for either all or a huge percentage of the disparity in lifetime incomes between the two groups.
Not a single study I’ve ever seen referenced attempted to control for this crucial variable.
It’s not what we don’t know that is the problem, it’s what we think we know that JUST AIN’T SO.
What’s worse, is that colleges have learned how to rob, via high tuition, room & board costs, college attendees of a big chunk of their future “incremental” earnings (over non-college grads.)
How perverse is THAT?
I didn’t read through all the comments. Sorry gang, time is short these days 🙁
@OP – Unfortunately you are correct. The megamouth holds the cards, and when backed with a bully pulpit they can exert great pressure on a group to behave according to the Mmouth’s agenda.
It only gets worse at the college/university level. In high school you have a lot of drones just watching the clock and going through the motions, however at the college level their very existence depends on your believing that their agenda is the only way things can be. Go against the flow, and enjoy a brutal fight over your GPA.
Bostonbob sounds like a great parent, that all we (Millenials) should be so lucky.
@hardscrabble – “Has anyone else noticed the recent verbal tick where every single sentence from the younger set begins with the word “so” ? ”
In 2009 I had a mock “thesis defense” for my senior capstone course. Before we received any feedback we had to watch a video of the presentation and grade ourselves using the given rubric. I did “so so” on the actual presentation, but fielding the questions I swear I started every damn response with “-blink-, pause, soooooooo”
In short, I came off like an idiot desperate to bullshit my way off the stage even if I did have the correct answers.
I don’t know where I picked it up, but its most definitely ubiquitous to my generation, and damned if it isn’t ridiculously annoying.
TPC,
Thank you, I think you will be happy to know my son is in his final year of Chemical Engineering and doing very well, already has job offers. He is like minded, though not as out spoken as his sister. Interestingly they get along as if they were best friends not just brother and sister. Her major is Biology.They also both go to the same university. I have been blessed many times over.
Bob.
@Bostonbob – Awesome, congratulations! Landing a job before graduation is a damned good feeling, it really makes a person feel like all the sacrifice actually meant something.
Congrats Boston Bob.
And you to Erin…well written. =)
Bob, that was an exceptionally well written essay and it is surprising that the author was of such tender young age. The is a difference between smart and wise, and it appears that your child has managed to achieve both at a very early age. Majority of people fail to do so in an entire lifetime.
However I would like to appeal to you with regard to your use of the word “liberal” to describe the statists of Massachusetts (or any place). The word comes from the same root as liberty. Are these people in any way advocating liberty? No, quite opposite; what they espouse is oppression.
They have absconded with that fine word like some 1984 newspeak agents.
Words have meanings, so it has been said – don’t t allow them to appropriate this one.
@Mark – Redefining the word “liberal” to actually reflect its roots would be an entire other paper. Trying to cram multiple ideas into such a small area dilutes the impact of the author’s words.
Now if she was writing a published paper that would be an awesome place to start:
The Cold Civil War: Even your words are used against you!