How many times can we ‘cross the line?’

“Sometimes I wonder, and then again – I wonder.”
It’s a phrase my mom would often use during my childhood, to describe anything at all. The quote would relate to a stupid comment I had made, someone cutting my mom off on a highway, or maybe even the things we would see on TV.
This is, after all, a wondrous world which asks many questions of us. I find it funny, therefore, that amidst the hustle and bustle of finals, term papers, and Christmas wishes, the one question on my mind is: how many times can we cross the line? How many times can we – as a society – repeatedly lower the standards of taste without there being any real repercussions?
Of the many important news events to take place during the course of this past semester, (such as the Democrats retaking both congressional houses, the ongoing war in Iraq, and yours truly being elected junior Homecoming Prince) it seems like they are the topics getting the least amount of coverage as we near the end of 2006. Rather, it is America’s obsession with celebrities which has overtaken the spotlight in recent weeks.
From Britney Spears and Paris Hilton’s drunken exploits to Danny DeVito’s appearance on The View to Michael Richards’s racist remarks; it appears we will never be able to get enough of celebrities at their worst (or maybe that really is their best.)
Just how de-sensitized to this stuff are we? There’s so much boundary breaking and line crossing that oftentimes when we do reach an ethical quandary it will just go by the wayside as we set the bar even lower. It will take a long time, however, for someone to set the bar lower than Britney Spears did last week. I thought we had somehow heard the last of her out of control life? Maybe after she dumped K-Fed she could get it together for the sake of her kids – or maybe she will react in the complete opposite way. Perhaps it’s too early to tell if her “sans panties” excursions were simply a sign of her crying out for help; nevertheless Britney (a mother of two) pretty much lost whatever dignity she had while attempting to get out of that car.
Perhaps the oddest part of it all is that while many laughed at Spears’ expense, no one has really condemned Britney and told her to get out of the public limelight (at least not yet.) But will anyone ever tell Britney to give it a rest? In fact, should anyone be chastising her? Yahoo.com revealed that her name was the most searched term on the Internet this past year. Spears undoubtedly will also profit in some way from her recent publicity stunts. This is part of an alarming trend which has seen celebrities profit off of their unethical public behavior.
After Michael Richards made his now infamous tirade against blacks at a stand-up comedy club, the sales of the Seinfeld DVD’s soared through the roof. In addition, a copy of Simpson’s book went up for sale on eBay and reached a high bid of $1,600 before the site removed the book.

If we keep paying attention to these celebrities and their out of control lifestyles, what does it say about us? Perhaps we are no better then them. That’s not for me to say, but what I can tell you is that if we continue to subscribe to these lifestyles

News is the Info u need to survive

While struggling to think of a topic to discuss in this column, inspiration struck me in an odd place: class.
MCO 377 is not exactly the most heartwarming course one can take at Iona College. In fact, my fellow students and I left our first two class sessions somber and depressed with the realizations of a grim future fresh in our minds. Students can see that Professor Tom Callahan takes pride in scaring the life out of his students as he lectures on the plethora of perils that await after graduation.
So after hearing a barrage of discourse on the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, global warming, the lack of affordable health care plans, sky high oil prices and the genocide in Darfur – just to name a few – what conclusion did this class reveal? The fact that no other generation will enter the work force (the “real” world) facing as many challenges as our generation.
While many students might shrug and say “So what?” to a statement like this, it is important to understand that despite the many risks facing us, we do have the power to change the world for the better (as clichéd as that sounds). It is also important to understand that in order for that to happen, people must be informed about all of these threats and recognize that they are taking root today – perhaps without us even realizing it.
Being informed could be the best defense mechanism we have against the many challenges that will come after graduation. Not necessarily the challenges that were listed above, but even smaller ones such as getting a job, buying a home and eventually raising a family will be impossible without staying informed of what’s going on in the world.
Yet, have media members been doing a good job in recent years? Professor Callahan (among many others) would say no, and he is right. In this crazy and mixed-up world, the media chooses to devote most of their coverage to “news items” like the relationships of celebrities Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Why is it that most media outlets don’t choose to broadcast facts like the continued devastation occurring within parts of New Orleans lingering from Katrina? What about the fact that Osama bin Laden has still not been found and is likely hiding in Pakistan - when was the last time anyone heard his name in a news story?
The fact of the matter is that there are many competing interests at work among media groups. While some of them certainly do try and tell the news as they see it and as it really is, they might come under scrutiny from their superiors who often act in favor of their own personal interests.
In order for a democracy to work, it is essential that journalists and media practitioners be able to do their job and provide citizens with as much information as possible on a variety of subjects. Without this notion, American citizens wouldn’t be able to make informed decisions which could shape our world for years to come. Knowledge is power – and the world will depend on our knowledge to deal with the challenges that are sure to arise.
However, it is only if we come to hold our journalists and newscasters responsible to do a better job that any true flow of information can occur.
Isn’t it ironic that at the apex of the digital age many Americans wouldn’t be able to answer some simple questions about current events in the world today? More often than not, this isn’t because those individuals aren’t scholars; rather these people are informed about the wrong events.
Put simply, if Americans were better informed by the press perhaps President Bush’s approval rating wouldn’t be plummeting more each day – and perhaps more foreign countries would still be our friends and not protest our actions each day.
While attending a class that actually makes students think for themselves like they do in MCO 377 might seem boring or annoying for the short term, the long-term goal is to shape free-thinking minds that will be able to survive in their post-Iona lives.

Craziness

This past weekend will go down as one of the craziest I have experienced in my three years at Iona.
The chaotic atmosphere created by the massive flooding inspired dumb-struck memories which I will never forget. The tragic death of Adam Lynch united the college community to remember a fallen brother in a time of sadness. On top of that, the terrible massacre at Virginia Tech was yet another reminder of just how fragile life really is.
With so much happening it was difficult to try and focus on just one thing to rant about. I couldn’t help but think that the surge in news items was a reflection of the fact that sometimes events in life are so big that they can’t be put into words.
Sunday felt like walking through a legitimate dream: it didn’t seem possible that a natural disaster of such a scale would ever touch our cozy little part of the country. But then, this weekend saw many things happen which wouldn’t normally fall into the realm of possible.
After watching many people come to terms with the damage caused by the flood (including dozens of cars filled to the brim with water) and others come to terms with the loss of a friend in Adam Lynch, it seems almost trivial to debate things like Don Imus vs. Al Sharpton or the Yankees and the Red Sox.
You could also say it would be trivial to run around in freezing sewage water, yelling at the top of your lungs. Yet perhaps it is these human things which get us through the tough times.
Maybe that can explain the wild and crazy reactions of some students during the flood on Sunday. It was almost like a cathartic form of healing after the long, somber week.
Taking a walk down White Oak Street in the early afternoon to find an array of cars submerged in water isn’t an everyday occurrence in New Rochelle – but it provided a nice break from the usual college activities. In between capturing the event with my trusty camera phone, I felt that every now and then it’s necessary to accept that there are some things we can’t control. Sunday was one of those days.
It was a day to sit back and say, “This is insane.”
Monday, on the other hand, was a day of sorrow for the entire nation. It was a time to pray for the thirty-plus individuals that had their lives ended by a madman at a college campus not very unlike Iona. Sometimes bad things happen to good people – and in this case it looks like we may never know any reason for the tragedy.
I don’t know whether or not things happen for a reason, but I do know that this weekend did happen. It wasn’t a dream – no matter how much we might wish that were so. Virginia Tech students were massacred; the Northeast region was thrashed by a powerful storm, and Iona is still mourning the loss of Adam Lynch.
We may never know why these things happened, but life goes on and as the saying goes, ‘time heals all wounds.’ The Iona community will move on – and hopefully there won’t be another weekend like this for some time to come.

What a death can teach us

I found out today that an Iona student died last night. It was a pretty profound shock to think that someone just a few years younger than myself could be dead. It is a real reminder of just how fragile this thing that we call life really is. It is another reason why we should cherish every breath we take and every second we have on earth.