(Myopia: nearsightedness, short-sightedness -- in the vernacular: lack of imagination, foresight, or intellectual insight).
The disturbing photo is intentional, we live in disturbing times. There's a lot to cover here so let's get started ....
In 1964 media guru Marshall McLuhan published ‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man‘. The first chapter was titled ‘The Medium is the Message‘ which became McLuhan’s signature mantra for decades to come. McLuhan’s conviction was that any particular medium being used was the focus of attention and not the content that was conveyed through it. Meaning, the form of media (radio, TV, print, film, etc.) profoundly affected the message as received. He went as far as to say that a light bulb was the purest medium. It had no content like a newspaper has, but without the light the newspaper could not be read and thus rendered useless. Get the point? Was McLuhan in the dark?
Today, McLuhan’s theory can be challenged because it seems like all media is now combined and condensed into the least common denominator. The ‘smart phone’ for example, especially as it applies to news and information. Our ancient analog ways have long ago lost the battle to digital. 24-hour cable news thrives as network news falters trying to compete. Print is essentially dead as “no one reads anymore.” Radio is neither here nor there, and film, the motion picture, has become a never-ending series of super hero worship and animated nonsense. We’ve gone wacky!
It's disturbing.
The smart phone is the popular media influence today, and it’s where the ‘myopic’ of our pop-media culture and McLuhan’s theory of ‘the medium is the message‘ meet and clash. This social medium is a source and a thread for hyperbole, hate and misinformation.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. I write these op-ed’s on my laptop computer, as most columnists do. I choose the accompanying graphic illustrations, and also the links I sometimes include for content support. The op-ed is meant to be read on a laptop or PC ...or a printout. However, on a printout (or newspaper) you can’t use a link. Nonetheless, if you read the op-ed on your smart phone it will take longer to read, it will look smaller, you have to scroll, you may lose concentration and you won’t get the full impact of the message as written and meant to be understood. This would be a favorable condition for a ‘myopic‘ reading, and would actually be a reverse interpretation of ‘the medium is the message‘ theory. In this case, the medium is not the message, in fact, it’s having a negative effect, hurting the message. Or, more critically, it is the message, but in a deflective, negative sense, losing the message to a chance interpretation or no interpretation. So maybe McLuhan was right after all.
This ‘myopic’ pop-culture phenomenon is having profound implications. We have become a reactive not responsive society driven by quick headlines, many times misleading, often confusing and conflicted, and we are always in an agitated state of reference because we jump, leap, from one perspective and opinion to another by anyone and seldom drill down for truth and understanding. We are induced to make quick, reckless decisions. We work on the media’s surface, and that surface is a constant turbulent storm of zany rhetoric, opinion, hype and glitz with a few facts mixed in to keep it all interesting and seemingly ‘legitimate’.
So don’t be “sold down the river”. For example, today, the flames of the omnipresent and never-ending race issue are being fanned by the media more than ever. All media, everyone, everywhere. He’s a racist, she’s a bigot! Our president, 'President Goldfinger', has dug himself into a hole so deep on this race issue with his mindless comments that he will never get out, and America is thrown back decades as he exploits the worst instincts of his base supporters. We're headed for trouble.
Emotions are high, sensitivities are thin, feelings are hurt, political controversy is at large, misunderstandings are rampant and make for a great television war of words. Injustice “sells”, baby! Everyone has an opinion, but no one has a working solution of which there is only one ...‘love is the answer’ ...’but is it, really?’ ...”We’ll be right back to find out with more, after these commercial messages.”
Comparing ‘race’ with ‘injustice’ is like confusing Myopia with Dyslexia. They are similar only in that they are related to the eyes. Myopia can be treated with glasses or medically, but in the vernacular definition it may be hopeless. Dyslexia is different but definitely in the conversation.
(Dyslexia: a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.)
Dyslexia is a disorder regarding spacial relationships. There is no specific medical treatment other than tutoring and training techniques. It’s like voting for a U.S. president, or trying to figure out the truth as it applies to current events ...or learning to love your neighbor. You have to work hard to overcome a dyslexic tendency to understand and articulate reason so it’s not viewed as an American thinking disorder.
(There is a reason I brought ‘Dyslexia’ into the conversation. It’s to support the punchline at the end ...bear with me).
Dyslexia or Myopia are not like having HIV/AIDS or Cancer. They are disorders that affect learning, not terminal, more like male pattern baldness or an astigmatism ...or racism. You just have to deal with it, it’s a challenge. You can do nothing, or you can do something. You can vote, or not vote. Dyslexia is common with millions of cases a year in America and it ranges from mild to severe. Myopia is common but less common with hundreds of thousands of cases identified annually in the U.S.
Maybe that’s why only half of America even votes anymore. Our ‘myopic/dyslexic’ pop-culture media has rendered many of us confused and bewildered not knowing which way to look or who or what to believe. Of course, there’a a margin of error calculating voter statistics. You have to pair out registered voters from the general population, make allowances for the ‘popular vote‘ whatever that means and who cares, and the number of people who just don’t vote because they don’t care, never did care.
I’m not trying to making light of Dyslexia (Amblyopia) or Myopia. Everyone else is. It’s part of our pop-culture language. How many times have you heard someone make a speaking or reading mistake and say as a joke, “Sorry, I guess I’m a little dyslexic.” Well, Dyslexia is no joke, especially if you are dyslexic, or myopic. It can be frustrating, embarrassing, and draining. It’s kind of like mental stuttering. Like trying to make sense of politics or race through the media, or voting for a president.
I am a little dyslexic myself ...and you may think probably a little ‘dysgraphic’ as well ...having writing challenges. But I'm not a racist ...
(Racist: a person who is prejudiced or antagonistic toward people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized).
Be that as it may, I’m using dyslexia/myopia, not racism, as a metaphor, humorously, you understand, for our current American political situation regarding the media, voting, and why we vote for a particular candidate and lean toward a particular medium for our information ...and how our elections are a crap shoot anyway, and end up a personality contest at best.
A common example of Dyslexia is reading words with the letters in reverse order. Like ‘FYL‘ for ‘FLY‘ or ‘SALVE’ for SLAVE’ or ‘THNAKS’ for ‘THANKS’. It’s a common error, and you don’t even have to be ‘dyslexic’ to make the mistake. Sometimes it’s merely the typeface, font size, or space between the letters. But sometimes we ‘THINK’ or 'THNIK' dyslexic as well, like ...‘TRUMP‘ for ‘TRUTH’ or ‘SEGREGATION‘ for ‘IMMIGRATION’. 'FOX' for 'MSNBC'. These are also common errors, but it’s not the difference between fonts, typeface or spacing, it’s more like Myopia, the difference between being ‘INFORMED‘ or ‘UNINFORMED’ ...or ‘MISINFORMED’. Let’s call it ‘Voter’s Block’ and attribute it to ‘America’s Myopic Pop-Media Culture’. 'NUKYALAR' for 'NUCLEAR' is more of a general intelligence and phonetic issue.
What is the root cause of this phenomenon? Notwithstanding media, it’s probably as simple as perception, observation, paying attention ...parenting, genetics ...environment. Awareness, having your head screwed on straight. And sadly, IQ probably comes into it as well, and that will always be a factor. Literacy. Education. Which brings us back to how to treat Dyslexia. Tutoring, educational training techniques. But I’m not making a connection between dyslexic or myopic people and IQ. There is none. It would be like making a connection between Autism and IQ. In fact, many autistic people have high IQ’s ...even at the genius level.
(Autism: a developmental disorder of variable severity that is characterized by difficulty in social interaction and communication and restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior).
‘America’s Myopic Pop-Media Culture’ is not a terminal disorder but it has a significant affect on the number of Americans not voting, and voting uninformed. More important, that a significant number of voters voted for Donald Trump, enough to crown him the American president-king. If America can't find a remedy for this disorder, and if the Democrats continue to self-destruct, some Republican senator needs to step up to the plate and run against 'President Goldfinger' in 2020.
Here’s another disorder that I found interesting regarding understanding media, and this reference may bring this all home and make more sense to you. It’s called ‘Alexia’, which is an inability to understand written language ...
...Soooo, I asked ‘Alexa’, you know, Alexa, who she’d vote for in 2020. Marshall McLuhan would love this ...she answered, “There are no voting booths in the cloud, believe me I’ve looked. It’s all just 1’s and 0’s up here.” Atta girl ...
Alexa for president!
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.
