“The More You Know? Please...”

c. 2017 Cheryl Kelly

All rights reserved

(11-17)

It was a rare occasion the other evening that I had the opportunity to sit down for a length of time and watch some television. And even rarer still that I actually got through a couple of programs without falling asleep half way during. Most of the times I’m watching something previously recorded by me on my DVR when I find time – wonderful invention by the way – and I have the luxury of fast forwarding through the endless commercials cutting down an hour program to about 35 minutes. However, this particular evening, I was actually watching something “live” and had to endure the continual advertisements and previews. I have to say that some of the commercials out there now are quite creative and downright funny, and I think to myself what a great job that would be; to be on the writing team for a fun product and working for a company that thinks outside the box and is not afraid to be progressive. But, just as I was finding myself enjoying them, on the screen came a celebrity making one of those public announcement speeches. You know the ones I’m talking about...they end with a catch phrase of something like “The more you know...” As I watched and listened, I felt myself getting increasingly annoyed as each second passed.

“How pretentious...” I thought to myself. Here is this overpaid athlete taking time out of his grueling existence of being paid exorbitant amounts of money to play a game, to give me the benefit of his advice on how to be a better parent. I sat there and thought about who the network big wigs were trying to reach. And who out there would be swayed by this football player who somehow has become an expert on parenting simply because he is famous on Sunday afternoons. What nitwit out there is watching and suddenly changing their bad parenting ways simply because all-star QB said they should? Thank goodness he swooped in to save the children! Whatever would we low-life parents do without his advice. Okay, so I was a bit more than annoyed…

I never quite understood the obsession with some people with celebrities. I’m not someone who pans through the tabloids waiting to see what is happening next with the Kardashians, nor am I going out of my way to run out and buy the next big wave of fashion that the new models are wearing, nor am I wasting my time or brain cells for that matter, making sure I keep up with Taylor Swift’s love life. Perhaps it is just a distraction for some people to keep themselves from dealing with their own reality? I do not profess to have an inkling as to the motivation behind it and I try my best not to judge others, even though I sound a bit judgmental at the moment. The issue I have is the use of media like television to promote an agenda, whatever that might be, to otherwise unsuspecting individuals who just want to watch a program. It’s one thing, if I decide to buy a magazine and have the choice to not read something, quite another to be a bit of a captive audience to a network of people making that decision for me on what I will be exposed to. Now, I know, I could change the channel, walk out of the room and wait for it to be over...blah, blah, blah, and I get that, but who is going to do that? Most people just sit and listen and wade through the interruptions waiting for their program to return, and those networks know that, and they exploit it.

Now, the scary thing here is that quite a few children watch television, right or wrong, and unlike adults who are not (typically) easily persuaded, they are a bit more vulnerable and malleable. And if parents aren’t the most diligent, such as the kind that our hero the all-star QB is trying his best to guide, they could be subject to some ideals and thoughts that some parents might otherwise not want for them. The same is true for the Internet as well. Children today are exposed to so many more things and at an earlier age that generations before them never imagined all due to the wonderful advancements of technology. And even though we benefit greatly as a society due to this evolution, it comes with a caveat. There is much to be gained from it, and much to be harmed by it at the same time, all the more reason for caution and awareness. Look, I just made my own public announcement...the more you know…

Editor’s Note: I do agree with what Cheryl is saying in her column. We have become active in worship of celebrity and fame. But this status reminds me of what used to be said of ‘Angelyne’ the West Coast billboard model and 80’s fad icon – she was “famous for being famous.” Real value comes from mothers and fathers who work hard on the job and at home with their families. They provide the building blocks of our society. Famous folk simply gaze at their reflection in the mirror and bask in artificial sunshine provided by media glitz. I reckon “the more you know” then the less you’ll be paying attention to such shallow, self-important figures.