Things I'm Tired Of

I seem to tire easily these days. Perhaps it's my age. God knows Friday nights look nothing like they did 20 years ago. Now they largely consist of staying awake on the drive home from work just long enough to collapse into a vegetative state on the couch. Way back when, Fridays were an event, and one that usually didn't end until the early hours of Saturday morning. Ah well, all good things . . .

 

But that kind of fatigue is to be expected, right? Instead, I've noticed a different kind of weariness setting in - one that has burrowed under my skin and whose sole function is to irritate. I'm talking about a growing list of "things" that are embedded into our culture that wear me out - that I often wish would go away. Repeated viewing and hearing of these items makes me unconsciously groan and roll my eyes. Near middle-aged, remember?

 

Warning - some of these things I'm tired of might be near and dear to your heart. My intent is not to anger anyone, just provide food for thought (and rant a little, of course). But if you care to toss a couple of expletives my way, feel free.

 

1. I'm tired of the use of the term "game-changer" - Every weekday morning as I ready myself for work, I try to watch the previous day's broadcast of the NBC Nightly News. As a social studies teacher, I need to at least pretend I know what's going on in the world, right? But anchor Brian Williams unrestricted use of the term "game changer" is going to drive me right into the arms of Scott Pelley and the CBS Evening News. Every social, political and world issue that is newsworthy seems to have at least one "game-changing" event take place each and every broadcast (last week I kept track - he used "game-changer" eight times). Brian better shape up fast and keep this loyal viewer because Pelley gives me the creeps.

 

2. I'm tired of anti-bacterial soap - What a scam. Just like the pharmaceutical industry's efforts to convince Americans that all they need to do to feel better is take a pill, the Germ-Freak Lobby has preyed on the overprotective nature of the modern American parent. The truth is germs are our friends - always have been, always will be. For instance, I work in the petri dish called public education. Middle school kids are hardly hygenic. Parents, you know what I'm talking about. Daily, I come into contact with all sorts of bacteria, and yet I can count on two hands the number of times I've been (legitimately) home sick from work in 15 years. In the end, anti-bacterial soap lowers our immunity from the common germs we actually need. If you need any further convincing, just remember that Jonas Salk cured polio by injecting children with a small dose of the same disease.

 

3. I'm tired of hearing how "Big" soccer is going to be in the US someday - I know it's the number one sport everywhere else in the world. Just not here. We like our sports fast, dangerous and violent. The only potential for violence in a soccer match is in the stands, not on the field. Soccer athletes are highly skilled, as fit as any other athletes in any other sport. But 1-0, 2-1 and 0-0 scores are never going to fly here across the pond from Europe. They just aren't. I have no doubt the sport will continue to thrive at the youth and high school levels, but that's it. I know there is a professional league in the United States called the MLS, but can you name even one team? Neither can I. And besides, we don't even call the sport by its proper name, "football". Not a chance.

 

4. I'm tired of politicians wearing an obligatory flag pin - The sale of flag pins has been a growth industry since 9/11. If memory serves, I have not seen a politician on television without one since that tragic day, but never saw any wearing one on 9/10. Are they that paranoid and insecure about their own perceived patriotism? Or are we that shallow that we ascribe disloyalty to a politician that doesn't wear one? True patriotism has been battered and bruised for some time now, and the mandatory wearing of a flag pin is just another footnote in it's history. More "Us vs. Them" thinking, the perpetual politics of suspicion and hate.  

 

5. I'm tired of athletes wearing pink - Okay, before you sharpen your pitchforks, hear me out. I have nothing but admiration for breast cancer survivors and the amazing grass roots organizations that have raised awareness and dollars for treatment and research over the last generation. I simply think that when athletes wear pink during designated games it is more self-serving than selfless. Yes, I have no doubt some professional athletes have been personally touched by the disease - a sister, a wife, a friend, a mother. But still, I can't ignore that little voice that keeps telling me that the NFL and MLB's "wear pink" games are more self-promotion than promoting awareness. Let's face it - professional athletes often suffer from an image problem. They are perceived as spoiled, rich and out of touch. Slapping some pink on for a few games a year seems like a small price to pay.

 

6. I'm growing increasingly tired of social networking - At the risk of biting the hand that feeds me, how much farther can social networking go? While I realize I still often have one foot in the 20th century, I can't help but wonder if all this cyber-connecting makes us any happier. Still, I do think I understand its popularity. Computers drive the global marketplace. In that regard, social media makes economic sense. As a people, we are more disconnected from our family, neighbors and friends than ever before. Sites like Facebook fill that need - the need of belonging, of feeling connected - even if the feeling is a mirage. Twitter, spurred on by a media-driven culture that claims celebrity as the end-all, be-all of existence, can (if we choose to) connect us to the rich and famous like never before. And texting (I still love texting) allows us to connect with people, but not really connect with people, all at the same time.

 

That's all for now - I'm pooped, wiped out, just plain tired.