what happens when you ignore something?
perhaps, like me, you feel that Sarah Palin represents the lowest common denominator, the worst that america has to offer. perhaps, you dream of an america free of her and her ilk, and populated with rational discourse, a quieter, more intelligent america.
so here’s a simple idea how to erase her from our cultural landscape. in all seriousness.
when i was in college there was this crazy preacher who used to come to campus regularly. i mean he thought homosexuality could be caught as an airborne disease and that oral sex led to demonic possession. yeah, that guy.
we used to stand there and make fun of him. but the more we mocked him, the more worked up he got. the man was a tireless machine, touring up and down the golden state endlessly. he thought he was reaching us. he thought we cared, because we listened.
one day a student at good ‘ole HSU stood up and said, “he likes the attention. if we go away, so will he.” and we did. we all stood up and walked off. all of us.
and the preacher fell silent. no one was listening. he had no audience. it was awesome.
so what would happen if we did the same thing to sarah palin? what if we didn’t let her take up any space in our lives, in our minds? imagine such a world. imagine the newfound respect from our fellow earthlings. i’m telling you, it can happen.
what if we didn’t read about her on huffington post? what if jon stewart didn’t say a word about her ever again? imagine the checkout line without her self serving smile. imagine a world without sarah palin. the idea is boggling and feels like the idea of winning the lottery, i know. but this isn’t a dream, it can happen.
no matter what she does or says, we ignore her completely. no blogs, no tweets, no facebook posts or groups, no articles, no forums, no fake motivational posters, no analyses, no jokes at the water cooler, no coverage of her at all. anywhere. (obviously except on that channel, which, if you watch that, you aren’t interested in erasing her; you’d have her over for tea and endangered species hunting)
impossible you say? never happen, quote the cynic? oh america, where is your can do spirit? it can be done i say, if we do it together. let’s use this thing called the web, let’s show what can be done, let’s play with the possibilities of this thing called new media. it’s the ultimate prank, the retaking of our mindspace, the repudiation of vacuity! WE CAN DO THIS AMERICA! LET’S SHOW ‘EM WE ‘AINT DONE YET!
an idea at it's best, is a simple thing. don't let the doubter within you get cranking, just act! repost, retweet, blog, email, fax, facebook, youtube, spam, text, call, get anonymous cranking, write a letter to your congresswoman, call the white house, hell you can even put it on myspace. get viral with this mutha. just get the word out today!!!! yes, yes we can!
palin is over! if you want it.
It would be great if it was this easy, but the powers that be don't want her to disappear and so long as they have a say, she will be in the forefront for people who don't have this (this being the realization in your article) figured out, or people that actually like her; and they will give her audience, and she will thrive through them.
ReplyDeleteOh, and... FIRST! XD
ReplyDeletehi josh! i didn't say it was gonna be easy, but i do actually believe that it could happen with some imagination and effort. howard cosell said, "love me or hate me, but don't ignore me."
ReplyDeleteit's time we reclaimed our mindspace. sure my idea is crazy, but i think it points to something that we have forgotten: we are what we consume. when we listen to these media voices, even if it's the opposing voices, we lend them power, because they have become a part of us.
so why not unplug? it's not a new idea. check out 4 arguments for the elimination of television, he talks about the power of thought, or reread 1984.
siddhartha gotama said: "you are what you think."
and hell josh, it's worth a shot, we only have ourselves to regain and sarah palin to lose.