Review: Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman

It was approximately 10 years ago when my old roommate Andy Cogar recommended that I add Neil Postman’s AmusingOurselves To Death: Public Discourse In The Age Of Show Business to my reading list. Amazingly, over those ten years, while I failed to read the book, I managed to recommend it to dozens of people. Andy had given me enough context and overview of the book and the subject matter seemed to make its way into conversation with regularity over the years.

As a result, I finally bit the bullet and read the book myself. And as a result of that, I thought it might be a good idea to write a little review to encourage others to pick up a copy of this nearly 30 year old book.

The version I read was the 20^th anniversary edition of the book. At the time of the book Twitter did not exist, and neither did the concept of a ‘smart phone’, at least not as part of our common existence. And the book has so much to say to us with regard to entertainment and discourse as well as contemporary society, but rather than offering my own commentary on the subject, I’ll simply recommend you read the book and give some thought to it yourself.

The main thrust of the book is an analysis of how video media has influenced and shaped public discourse, and reduced much of this discourse to images and sound bites. As a point of comparison, in one section of the book he compares a debate in the 1800s between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas (which took place over hours) to modern political debates on television (that are around 1-2 hours with commercials included).

Postman, concludes that we have reduced thoughtful conversation and discussion of issues to an array of sound-bites and interruptions (in the form of commercials and other news stories). He points out that among other things, through the way we receive news and other information we lose our sense of the local, and much of what we discover through ‘news’ has very little imformed impact on our daily routines.

It would be easy to conclude that Postman may be a Luddite of sorts, but that designation would miss its mark. He concludes that television is a fun means for entertainment, but not such a great means for discourse because of the disjointed nature it introduces into conversation and thought. Rather than lamenting technology, he laments that public discourse has become more about entertainment than about intellectual stimulation.

If you can, grab a copy of this book and give it a read. It is thoughtful, and leaves one wondering what Postman would make of the world in which we now find ourselves nearly 30 years after his book. 

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day 2013

For the last few years, I have attempted to dedicate a post on my blog to National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The reason for this is simple. I know about the issue, and I want to insure that I am doing some small part to keep this issue on other people’s radars.

You see part of the reason modern day slavery and human trafficking not only exist but thrive is because many people don’t know or don’t care. The problem is made worse by a number of factors including demand by slave traders as well as desperation on the part of many of the poorest people on the planet. People in desperate situations do desperate things like sell themselves or their family members into slavery. And because of the fact that few people realize that slavery still exists (even in the United States), slavers and traffickers continue to do their nefarious work.

What hurts is that without exposing this problem, more and more people will continue to suffer. People forget about issues if they aren’t brought to confront them. Just this past Congressional session, the TraffickingVictims Protection Reauthorization Act (which was initially passd in 2000 and reauthorized unanimously by Congress three separate times) did not get passed. Three senators put anonymous ‘holds’ on the bill, preventing it from moving forward.  In spite of this set-back, it has been largely the efforts of concerned citizens that have kept this issue in the forefront of Congressional work as something that people can agree on regardless of their partisan persuasions. 

So what can you do as part of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day? Here are just a few ideas to consider.

• Support an anti-slavery or anti-trafficking organization like International Justice Mission, Not For Sale, orPolaris Project.
• Write your congressional representatives and encourage them to support the TVPRA and other anti-slavery and anti-trafficking legislation.
• Commit to learn more about the issue. There are tons of resources on the web, and if you can make time to visit, I highly recommend a trip to the Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH.
• Also, if you suspect a potential slavery or trafficking operation happening in your community, report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline

Thanks for taking time to make your voice heard and contribute to making a difference.  And may we all look forward to a day when we don’t have to worry about legislation like TVPRA getting passed because we will have pushed back the darkness together!

Tune In To This Google Hangout about Modern Day Slavery

I know this is a bit last minute as a blog post, but I just wanted to encourage folks who have Google+ accounts to take some time and tune in to this Google+ Hangout featuring New York Times columnist and author NickKristof, along with Somaly Mam and Rachel Lloyd. The forum will be moderated by Luke Blocher, General Counsel for the National Underground Railroad and FreedomCenter in Cincinnati, OH. Luke is both a good friend and a determined advocate for ending modern day slavery and human trafficking. The actual hangout starts at 10AM on January 10, 2013.

I’m excited for the fact that more and more people are becoming aware of the issue, and mobilizing others to end human trafficking and slavery. I’ll keep this post brief—just take some time out of your day to tune in if you can.

Washing Dishes, Serving, and Christmas

My wife and her family are absolutely amazing. There are a number of reasons I could list for why I feel this way, but this little post will be centered on just one of them—doing dishes on Christmas.

For the last three years Jamie and her family have allowed me the privilege of joining them in this long time Reaser tradition. It started when Jamie was in middle school/junior high, and her parents were a little concerned that their daughter might somehow get distracted by all of the gift-giving around Christmas and think the day is really about her.

As a result, Jamie’s mom started looking for opportunities in which they could serve on Christmas day in the local community. In Clarksburg, a group had organized a Christmas dinner where they invited people to come for a meal in a local Methodist church (or have the meal delivered). Jamie and her parents signed themselves up to wash dishes and stay behind the scenes. (Ironically, the first time I went with them the local TV station interviewed Jamie about serving there.)

There is something healing that happens in our souls when we serve and look out for the interests of others instead of just ourselves. I believe that this gesture that flies in the face of what has become a ‘normal’ celebration of Christmas (lots of un-needed gifts, and a mid-afternoon visit to a movie theater). Now, don’t get me wrong, movies are great, and the thought behind most gifts is also wonderful, but they just don’t hold a candle to serving.

Jesus said that He “came not to be served but to serve others…”, and when we serve, we are actually following the example and teaching of Jesus. And what better day to serve than on the day the world celebrates His birth.

As 2013 gets started, I want to encourage you to look for opportunities to serve, and then serve. I believe that serving changes us in a good way. I believe that if we all took a little more time to serve others, our families would be healthier, our neighborhoods would be safer, and our world would be a little brighter. And service doesn’t have to be part of a big event. Often the best opportunities to serve show up in the mundane and the every day.

Here’s to making a fresh commitment to service in 2013!

Review: "How God Became King" by NT Wright

Last spring I purchased NT Wright’s latest book and had the great aspirations of reading it and reviewing it in 2012. I was able to do the former in 2012, but barely. In fact, it was New Year’s Eve, sitting in the Morgantown Starbucks that I was able to pour through the latter two thirds of the book.  In some ways, the reading and review of this book typified 2012. There were goals that just got away from me and so these goals need to be carried into the new year.

That being said, at last, I have been able to sit down and write a brief review of Wright’s book. The book How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels is a highly accessible book for people who have committed their vocations to the teaching of the Bible as well as to those who have committed their lives to being ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.

The book is divided into four sections with the fourth being a response to understanding Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection as not only in terms of atonement for sin, but as the beginnings of God putting all things to right (including our own relationship with Him).

In the first section of the book, he deals with two extremes that currently exist with regard to the life and teachings of Jesus. One is to so fully focus on His divinity and His birth, death, and resurrection that one misses His life. The other is to so focus on His life, that one misses the meaning and significance of his birth, death, and resurrection. He also gives some proposals as to how this split has happened as well as the incomplete image both offer.

In the second section, Wright speaks of four areas of emphasis within the gospels as four speakers in a sound system that need to be brought into harmony. Two of the speakers are turned up really loud and play distortedly, and in many ways drown out the remaining two speakers. Wright proposes that what needs to happen for us to hear all of the fullness of the message of the gospels is that we need to adjust the balance and volume of these stories.

In the third section, he proposes what happens as the four speakers are properly balanced. A story emerges that is the story of Israel coming to it’s climax as well as the story of Israel’s God becoming king and making his presence with humanity. In this story, everything doesn’t quite look the way one would expect it to look, but part of the reason for this is the linkage with the establishment of God’s Kingdom through suffering, service, and taking up of one’s cross.

Wright further builds a case that in much of our modern readings of the Gospels, we have uncoupled the Kingdom of God from being anything of this world or having any place in this world, and as a result we miss some of the very real and tangible opportunities for learning not only from the life of Jesus, but also seeking to live life as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God in the here and now.

Unfortunately a review this brief simply does not do the book justice, so rather than try to write lots more, I will simply encourage you to purchase a copy and give it a read, along with Wright’s other writings.

And regardless of whether you read the book or not, I invite you to take a moment, and reflect on what life might look like in your neighborhood, in your job, and in this world, if God’s rule was reflected there? And what might it look like for you to be an ambassador of what it would look like?

Just a little food for thought for 2013.