Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Culture Of Death

As observations go this one is possibly going to hit some of you with a big "Yeah Whatever, who cares" factor attached to it, but you should be concerned. Why is our society so heavily immersing itself in the topic of death? Every year our TV screens are collecting an ever increasing amount of death wallowing murder mystery shows that sometimes even subtly celebrate the criminal ability. At this rate all we will be viewing soon is weight loss self loathing and hollow headed look at me reality TV, murder mysteries, game shows and just enough children’s viewing time slots to make it permissible for a network to continue without confrontation. News and documentaries fill the other gaps and with the ever biased news networks ensuring we predominantly receive terror based run for the hills reporting, one need not turn to CSI for a daily dose of fear. We are sometimes told that our thoughts can create our reality and I wonder if the push to fill our down times with this sort of TV viewing is possibly why we are heading down a path of no return.

The powers that be, especially the ones who come to dictate to other countries the meaning of terrorism, have in my opinion an agenda for mass fear based living. Australians in the past have recoiled in embarrassment at what we perceived as our unsophisticated cultural behaviour and raced at all costs to emulate a culture that promised us what we thought we needed. Unhealthy excess in all forms has arrived here in the last 30 years and in many ways some of us have come to realize the pitfalls of the imperialistic con we have been sold. Now in many ways we seem like just an out-post for a country that has imported a way of life that seems very obsessed with death and a lifestyle that ensures its speedy arrival.

And while on the topic of observation, why are we are all of a sudden being bombarded with life insurance advertising? Or should it be death insurance advertising? This is more fear mongering on a constant basis, brain washing us into the terror machine of death and the “what ifs” that surround it. Why at this juncture of history is it so important to pile money into these agencies that promise to save your family from destruction if you pass away suddenly? It was only about 12 years ago that I noticed the start of proactive advertising about funeral insurance from one or two companies and now every second ad is encouraging us to ensure our life against death, imploring us to realize the error of not addressing this pitfall. It's just a thought, but how would you make heaps of money out of the masses with insider trading information that only those in powerful positions know about, that involves taking money off people for insurance that their families may not ever be able to collect? Let's hope that what is on the way is not the answer to the cultural reality in question.

Copyright © Robyn Whittaker. 2012

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