Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Halfway through scanning the news today, I realized with some chagrin that I had completely forgotten, in just three short weeks, the Arizona shootings. It was shameful, really, that an event of such gravity disappeared so quickly into the ether for me, and I started evaluating my relationship with media. Usually, whenever we discuss media, the term is employed to describe the rich stores of electronic entertainments I hork down by the pound. But when we talk about media in the traditional sense, which is also readily available in great quantity, the situation is markedly different.

News is overwhelming. I’d go insane, if I had a television or radio on all day, because the steady flow of information, heavy as it may be, is downright hypnotic. I turn to Newsmap instead to make sense of what’s current. The reason why I even bother with this ritual, ostensibly, is because responsible global citizenship calls for it. It’s context, a reminder that Charlotte–and the U.S., on days when I can remember all those other states–doesn’t sit at the center of the world.

That’s the mission statement, at least, and in my heart of hearts, I know I’ve already failed. Take the Egyptian protests, for instance. I had to sneak a furtive peek at Wikipedia last Thursday night to understand what all those people were doing on that bridge. I was playing catch-up to a significant chapter in history. And you know what? One or two bylines notwithstanding, I’ve fallen behind again. For the people marching right now, this is momentous, their entire framework reset. For me, however, it remains an occasionally updated headline that’s bolded in slightly bigger font on nytimes.com.

But then I scrolled further down the page, read this article, and I was firmly put in my place. This is why I scan the news, I remember thinking. These creatures are fascinating. What was important for me was realizing that before the recession, before shoe bombs, before full body scans, before whatever happened on The Bachelor last week, these little fuckers were going MacGyver with leaves and twigs, and they’ll be doing the same thing long after all this passes. That’s comforting and, you’ll have to excuse me here, the bird’s-eye view. Now, all I have to do is figure out how to lure a New Caledonian to my computer and then, using only a stick, a small bolt of cloth, three pieces of duct tape, and my keyboard, teach it to post every Tuesday and Thursday. Puzzle me that, crow.