The other night, when my day was ending, I switched off the TV from one of the two or three hundred stations we get these days and something dawned on me during one of those yesterday moments folks my age drift to from time to time. In the era we live in, with the high tech and very different values from our yesterdays, we spend so much time each day making incredible numbers of decisions or choices from all that is offered to us. Time didn”t used to be totally planned and was used doing things at a slower and more personal pace than now. We used to have time to think, ponder, read just for pleasure, enjoy a sunset and learn from family and friends.
Thinking about it, take the hamburger. It used to be you would order a burger or cheese burger and the only decision you had to make was whether it would have onions or not. Now you have to choose between 50 or more kinds of that simple enjoyment. Soda pop, beer, wine brings the same amount of decision time to a person”s day. The same can be said for sports where there are so many different teams and players, it”s hard to remember any of them. There are so many things to choose to do each day, if feels like you don”t even end up doing any of them.
We live on a beautiful lake. Yet you can count on your fingers how many folks are out enjoying doing all the things that a person can do on the lake instead of watching TV, playing computer games and on to Facebook chatting with total strangers that we never meet. Who can find time out to fish or go swimming or boating.
The cost to attend a professional entertainment event is such that you nearly have to take out a loan to go enjoy one, and our kids will never see one until they”re an adult and can afford to pay for themselves to attend. You see fewer families enjoying a day together, having fun and bonding. Members of today”s families can find so many varied things to do based on their ages, interests, etc.
When three or four folks ride in a car the type of music that is played causes a stir, and how can you agree on a movie to go see, where to spend a vacation, what fast food joint to go to, and so on. The make and type of a family car, what we watch on TV, etc. – in this era it is hard to get a majority agreement with a few people as the choices are so varied. The really important issues of the day gain far too little focus from our nation”s citizens, who are overwhelmed with so many truly unimportant issues on their minds. It”s sad to see our youth not knowing much about the very important events from the past, events we learned from, and became better citizens in knowing and understanding. I have to wonder what percent of our natural citizens could pass the exam that the new citizens have to pass to achieve citizenship.
This issue I am sharing is not sour grapes nor a longing for the good old days, but a real concern that we all are downgrading the time and knowledge needed to be good citizens of our nation. We could use the time of our lives more productively and sensibly. When you reach many decades of living life, and understand just how important “time” is in living a full and rewarding life, you want to scream out for those who follow to waste as little of it as possible.
Variety is a wonderful thing. But when there is an overwhelming amount of it, or at least so it seems to this man, it is something to take seriously or the cost of lessening the value of so many wonderful experiences will be overlooked due to not having enough time.
I am sure many will feel that the differences of the times are a great thing, but right now I am not so sure about it.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
