ginny t. 8/29

So it’s happening already...just as Dr. Rog predicted, these PoMo theories are starting to infiltrate my brain, and I can’t watch TV or read anything without thinking: “So what is not being said here??”

For instance, I was watching CNN yesterday and one of the headlining stories was about the missile defense system the US is testing. Yesterday we launched one missile (the pseudo-enemy weapon) from Alaska, and another “defense” missile from somewhere in California. Though there was a chance the missiles may or may not make contact, the real concern was to see how prepared we were as a nation to defend ourselves against an attack from a hostile neighbor. I assume that the story was broadcasted to reassure the American public that we are as safe as ever and well protected against the “Axis of Evil.” While I’m sure most people took the report at face value, it couldn’t help but “read between the lines.” Namely, how is it appropriate for the United States to test long-range missiles, but absolutely reprehensible for North Korea to do the same thing? I’m sure in the news stories in Korea are all about the advances they are making in protecting themselves from the aggressors (the US.) I’m in no way supporting the regime in North Korea, but I find it interesting how duplicitous our government and the public can be about such matters. It seems just like another instance of the American public’s “whatever” attitude; we support this culture of fear as long as someone else does our thinking for us...as long as we still have free access to Starbucks and eBay, we’ll pretty much swallow anything. I feel like this kind of attitude is exactly how our government can contine to commit major foreign policy faux pas and other atrocties around the world. The silence and aparent apathy coming from the American people gives the green light for this kind of behavior to continue.

And to close, I thought I’d leave you with David Sedaris’s take on Saussure’s concept of Signifier & Signified, as found in the essay “Six to Eight Black Men” from his latest book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim:

“Firearms aren’t really an issue in Eurpoe, so when traveling abroad, my first question usually relates to barnyard animals. ‘What do your roosters say?’ is a good icebreaker, as every country has its own unique interpretation. In Germany, where dogs bark ‘vow vow’ and both the frog and the duck say ‘quack,’ the rooster greets the dawn with a hearty ‘rik-a-riki.’ Greek roosters crow ‘kiri-a-kee,’ and in France they scream ‘coco-rico,’ which sounds like one of those horrible premixed cocktails with a pirate on the label. When told that an American rooster says ‘cock-a-doodle-doo,’ my hosts look at me with disbelief and pity.”

Man, I love David Sedaris.