Society worships what the media tells it to

My first Sociology 101 class, at age 43, informed me of how much our lives are influenced by other people.

Ken Fallon, a psychotherapist, taught the class and described the role our culture plays in determining the course of our lives. As a result of seeing myself in a broader context, over the next few years I resolved some of my long-standing religious doubts and came to believe that our culture is the actual “god” of our existence, because it provides the ways and means for our survival and well-being. If there is a God, he rules through our cultural institutions.

Another sociology class in the late 1990s reinforced my conclusions, and last fall I audited a class taught by Michael Cull, who pointed out that a new cultural institution is emerging. Mass media is a relatively modern phenomenon that is probably not under the influence of God, but it is subtly and insidiously shaping our outlook, attitudes and behavior in ways we are mostly unaware of.

An example of the influence of mass media can be seen in the recent pre-Christmas shopping season that was saturated with news reports about the plight of retailers who were holding phenomenal sales in a desperate attempt to survive a worrisome economic forecast. Shoppers responded enthusiastically, which included people lining up outside the stores at 4 a.m., and by the time Christmas arrived, the news reports had refocused their attention to concerns about the average balance on credit cards and the fact that America has become a debtor nation.

This didn’t happen over-night, but the point is people neglect to do their own thinking when they feel secure in the illusion of being among the “normal” American majority — until they wake up one day and wonder how they got into such a mess.

Art Carney

Wasilla