News that's News May 29, 2007
How many times are we going to turn on the news and have to listen to the
Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton train wreck stories? Hollywood and our media have
a lot more important things to say and do and tell than to cover such
paparazzi-pandering voyeurism.
Being a parent of three children I am very aware that teenagers run into drug
and alcohol problems. I have had to put my foot down with all three of my kids
who had to experience outdoor programs, boarding schools and inpatient programs
so that they could learn how to be strong in themselves and not follow the pack
or the so called "crowd." It was my job, (and a not so popular campaign in my
home) to yank on the kid's strings when they started making poor choices.
Is it any wonder why it is really difficult for this generation to make good
choices when their role models are the likes of the two mentioned above? We sit
back and do nothing while the media publicizes and idolizes bad behavior. All of
the other kids in America are expected to play by the rules and make good
choices in life. But you tell me where is the media coverage on the kids who
stand out because of their admirable accomplishments?
Lindsay, Paris or anyone else who thinks they are above the law because they are
famous or because their parents are rich should not get any favors. I hope they
do the time, get the help that they need and start making better choices!
The media needs to take a good look at some of the stories they are covering and
consider why so much attention is paid to them.
The issues that surround us are critical to the future of our country. Our
educational system is terrible. Forget no child left behind. They are all
getting left behind. Our health care system is laughable. Our environment has
gone to the toilet. Jobs are in short supply. There is an epidemic drug problem
in this country.
And what are we going to do about the WAR?
All of these issues affect the health and safety of all Americans.
This is important. Not the minutia of Paris and Lindsey's foolish life choices.
If the media showed us just how bad things are and did not sugar coat it, then
people� parents, students and government�could focusing on how to change these
things. It's certainly a better use of time than watching what the hell Lindsay
and Paris are doing. Then maybe we could affect some change.
I congratulate media when they step up to the plate and tell the unpopular
stories.
For example, CBS2 news in Sayreville, New Jersey just ran a story about a site
that we have been looking at regarding the air pollution and the numerous
cancers and issues in this community living close to a DuPont and Hercules
chemical plant. Because of this story, the community has become aware and is now
banning together, talking and wanting to do something about the problem.
And it's a big problem. For the past fourteen years, this community has had over
THREE MILLION pounds of carcinogenic chemicals released into the air of which
over 500,000 LBS. are actual fugitive emissions.
How many of these types of facilities are there throughout the US? What if only
a few have same problem? What if there are thousands of these businesses�large
and small�spewing out various degrees of fugitive emissions under the radar?
You do the math.
Tell me you don't believe in Global Warming.
Tell me why we see so many cancers.
What is bothersome is that these statistics were taken from the US EPA website.
The figures from these facilities are not available for 2006 and 2007 Industry
is two years behind in reporting.
What is going on? Why do we set all the rules and regulations and then do
nothing to enforce them? Is it because no one is talking about them? How about
we start covering human issues and stories that AFFECT us.
If the tide doesn't turn, then we have to turn it ourselves.
Let's get people involved again and not sweep things under the rug. Let's not
pay so much attention to things that don't really matter and certainly don't
help others. Let's get back to the news, back to the people and back to America.
MySpace blog of Anthony Marr
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
In response of the above.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Dear Erin,
Good timing for your blog. I was just watching CNN
on Lindsay Lohan. The usual paparazzi crap, but one not-so-small gem
did fall out of the mess somewhere. It was observed that these young
people (esp. girls), deep down inside, suffer from a sense of
"overwhelming emptiness".
This of course refers to the intangibles yet
essentials in life such as meaning and purpose. In other words, these
young people view their lives as being meaningless and purposeless, if
they view their lives seriously at all. To people like you and me,
meaning and purpose reside not in our little personal lives, but in how
our lives fit into the greater scheme of things, in fact, into our
greater selves to which we all belong, of which we are just integral
parts. For me, it is the billions of sentient creatures who cannot
speak out for nor defend themselves, with which we share the
environment, with which we interweave to form the biosphere, the
biosphere of our planet, and our planet itself.
To instill meaning and purpose in our children
should be the task of religion, but not only have most "old-time
religions" led our young people into a state of empty irrelevancy in
today's drastically different world compared to those in which those
religions were first created, but left them with an ultimately selfish
goal - "Don't worry about the Earth, just get YOUR soul into Heaven."
These historical guiding lights have failed our
young people, who do still need guiding lights. Still, not all is pitch
black. There are highly relevant guiding lights emerging from the 21st
Century. Not meaning any flattery, but you are one of them. Your are
something the girls can identify with, can follow along, can think by,
can cheer for, can learning from. Your movie, for example, can impart
these new values and inject the spirit, the enthusiasm, the energy and
the perseverance. It clearly defines the problems and conjures new
visions. It brings out the Power of One for any girl who needs a role
model, and they all do, and of every female I have observed on the big
screen, you are the one. Before you, it could be Joan of Arc, but
really, how relevant was Joan's medieval struggles to today's world,
other than the permanent stain that she was burnt at the stake, and her
eternal badge of courage?
Within days of rewatching "Erin Brockovich", I also
rewatched "The Insider" (Russell Crowe), about Dr.
Jeffrey Wygand who blew the whistle on
the tobacco industry which, other than chemically manipulating nicotine
for greater addictability, also most unethically targeted children
(still do, along with other unsavory industries such as those
producing booze and violent toys) as their main marketing ploys. I rank
these two films as coequal in their social impact, and both should be
made "text-films" in the high school curriculum. I would love to sit in
the post-viewing discussions and learn from what our young people would
then have to say.
There is another important element that both films
revealed. In EB, it was your ex-BF laying down the condition that you
should drop your crusade in favor of the relationship, and in The
Insider, it was Wygand's wife abandoning him at his most vulnerable
during his highly principled fight.
On this point, there is a difference between the
two films. While in "Erin Brockovich" you and your ex-BF seemed to have
arrived at an amicable resolution, and your children stayed with you,
the sadder film - The Insider - had it that Wygand's children were given
custody to ex-Mrs. Wygand, which offers a clear illustration as to how
and why some of our children languish in the emptiness devoid of a
higher meaning, purpose and value.
Keep up your great work.
Anthony Marr, founder
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.MySpace.com/AnthonyMarr
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE -
www.HOPE-CARE.org)
Deer Options Enterprise (DOE -
www.DeerOptions.com)
Western Canada Anti-Sealing Coalition (WCASC - website pending)
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