Well it is August 1 and I still haven’t done the wrap up post on my Territory concerts in Portland.
The desire to relax and take a bit of summer has overtaken me. Or maybe it is just that the first gray day in a month or so has inspired the irresistible urge to stop working and catch up on a backlog of pleasurable reading.
Which is why I just discovered this funny, thought-provoking and very satisfying essay by Dan DeWeese in the spring edition of the Oregon Humanities Magazine called “Burning Bushes.” It is a very apropos comparison of our culture’s complete saturation in media with what he playfully defines as an original media spectacle– The Burning Bush from which God spoke to Moses.
My favorite line (among many) so far in my first reading:
In other words, attempting to live while constantly surrounded by spectacle is not a quality problem, it’s a quantity problem. I know Terry Gross is smart, a good interviewer, and a valued figure in the media landscape; I’m also tired of her, because she has been chattering for years. How am I to reconcile that I like and respect her and also wouldn’t mind if I never heard her voice again?
If you enjoy essays, long-form journalism, or, like me, need some worthwhile act of civil disobedience to the hegemony of work- read the whole thing at this link:
http://oregonhumanities.org/magazine/issue/spectacle/dan-deweese-on-burning-bushes
On the Territory 