Reading Is Ephemeral

[substitute]

In American middle-class society, there's a list of things that are valued in the abstract and ignored in practice. Let's call them Institutional Hypocrises. Most of these totems are foisted off on children, including religion, the environment, and good nutrition. Adults avoid their churches, pollute, and eat chee-tos. Children are expected to go to Sunday School, take part in ecological cleanups, and eat "right".

To this list we should probably now add literacy. My library employee friends locally tell me that the library is now a Blockbuster mostly. People check out videos like crazy, and the books gather dust, except for the childrens books which are constantly in demand.

So now that I am a man, I suppose I should put away childish things and stop honoring my God, stop recycling, eat more chocolate pudding and less bran, and watch "Elimidate" instead of re-reading Joyce. I'm such an immature disaster.

Comments

[chaptal.livejournal.com]

And too many are incapable of returning their movies on time then bitch about the fines.

The children's book is either Harry Potter or nothing at all.

Yeah, I'm bitter,

[nuns.livejournal.com]

Do you live on/near one or the other coast? I think you're spot on about the literacy, but my impression is that religion is actually pretty prominent in the middle of the country. I wonder whether the prominent atheism among people I encounter is because I encounter people in places that attract atheists (like Boston -- haha...). Seriously, though, I suspect there are lots more serious church-goers (proportionally of course, since a different population size means a different absolute number is less interesting) in, say, the bible belt than here in MA or in CA either.

[thiscantbesoy.livejournal.com]

Parents force those things on their kids because parents know better, and because parents only want the best for their kids. We "make" them do what we know is right, but what we lack the discipline to do for ourselves. To talk about God with your kids, to help them keep the world cleaner, and to force-feed them green beans only makes them healthier while we still have some control over their lives.

[thiscantbesoy.livejournal.com]

But life isn't worth living without watching ElimiDate. The end.

KABONG

[400anvils.livejournal.com]

CHEE-TOS?! WHO EATS CHEE-TOS? EVERYONE KNOWS THAT DORITOS RULES! AND I AM NOT A HYPOCRITE FOR EATING THEM!!!

alignment of stars planets other heavenly bodies

[lostcosmonaut.livejournal.com]

ha I just noticed that our journal entries of today have similar themes. I swear even though mine came after yrs it was an accident.--mza.

[flipzagging.livejournal.com]

It always amuses me that porn is called "adult entertainment". I have no problem with people consuming it (mostly) but truth-in-labelling would require "middle-school entertainment" or "hindbrain entertainment".

Somewhere during my lifetime, people stopped growing up. Nowadays, adulthood just means being freed from all responsibility.

[frobisher.livejournal.com]

For god's sake, man, don't buy into that "growing up" nonsense!