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Saturday, July 18, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
why i love readers digest
My favorite magazine is the Readers Digest. The reason I am fond of this magazine is because it contents encompasses almost all spheres of life. It deals with political issues, medical and technological advancement, humor, relationships and real life issues. Secondly the presentations by different columnist are very precise and full of good research. I like it for it wholesomeness and sensitivity to the different audiences it carters for with a subtle but authoritative analysis of this issues.
As for my literacy in consumption of this medium’s message I am confident that I am reasonably literate. I do not for a fact accept any of the content as gospel truth, I have this skeptic and doubtful attitude towards it until I have confirmed that indeed the message depicted is infact a fact. I have said reasonably literate because unfortunately my media skills do not free me from all my biases and prejudices. The Readers Digest as I mentioned earlier has a variety of content ranging from health, technology, fashion, truestories, sex and relationships.
There was a time I read about this woman celebrity in South African who alleged that she was abused by some members of her family as she was growing up. When she was asked why she did not reveal this to someone close to her i.e. her mother or confidant she claimed that she did not have any such person to tell. The interviewer further pressed and asked her why she did not do so afterwards; she claimed that she was better off forgetting that terrible part of her life. She further went to say that even today when she goes for family reunions she still sees those who molested her. She feels angry that they have the guts to be there after all they have done to her. At first i thought this could be one of those staged performances by the media to attract audience i.e. the notion that when it bleeds it leads.
But I read further on rape and child molestation. The statitistics shocked me; it said that indeed children who undergo this experience most of the time go with them to the grave. Parents who are most of the time the perpetrators are supposedly protectors of this children which makes it hard for the children to disclose. Girls who rush to the mothers to announce the sad news of being raped by fathers are hushed or even beaten for trying to soil the good name of the father. Mothers first protect their marriages and the other interest comes a distance second. The fact that I can access the content from various
Point of access increases my enjoyment of the magazine. Most of the time I read Readers Digests to get information on the current advancement indiscipline of medicine and technology. I read to learn about what individuals are tying to do to curb global warming and international terrorism. But other times I just go to the library to peruse through a volume of the readers digests to read the humor and jokes column. I find that the humor and various anecdotes are not amusing but also real. The jokes and Humor columns are strategically placed to entice, which I take note but all the same the content of the jokes are worth the entrapment at the end of the reading. Thirdly I sometimes come to read the Readers, Digest for their inspirational real life stories that are encouraging and uplifting. The fact that it happened to someone else shows it could also happen tome and I could gained immensely from their experience.
As for my literacy in consumption of this medium’s message I am confident that I am reasonably literate. I do not for a fact accept any of the content as gospel truth, I have this skeptic and doubtful attitude towards it until I have confirmed that indeed the message depicted is infact a fact. I have said reasonably literate because unfortunately my media skills do not free me from all my biases and prejudices. The Readers Digest as I mentioned earlier has a variety of content ranging from health, technology, fashion, truestories, sex and relationships.
There was a time I read about this woman celebrity in South African who alleged that she was abused by some members of her family as she was growing up. When she was asked why she did not reveal this to someone close to her i.e. her mother or confidant she claimed that she did not have any such person to tell. The interviewer further pressed and asked her why she did not do so afterwards; she claimed that she was better off forgetting that terrible part of her life. She further went to say that even today when she goes for family reunions she still sees those who molested her. She feels angry that they have the guts to be there after all they have done to her. At first i thought this could be one of those staged performances by the media to attract audience i.e. the notion that when it bleeds it leads.
But I read further on rape and child molestation. The statitistics shocked me; it said that indeed children who undergo this experience most of the time go with them to the grave. Parents who are most of the time the perpetrators are supposedly protectors of this children which makes it hard for the children to disclose. Girls who rush to the mothers to announce the sad news of being raped by fathers are hushed or even beaten for trying to soil the good name of the father. Mothers first protect their marriages and the other interest comes a distance second. The fact that I can access the content from various
Point of access increases my enjoyment of the magazine. Most of the time I read Readers Digests to get information on the current advancement indiscipline of medicine and technology. I read to learn about what individuals are tying to do to curb global warming and international terrorism. But other times I just go to the library to peruse through a volume of the readers digests to read the humor and jokes column. I find that the humor and various anecdotes are not amusing but also real. The jokes and Humor columns are strategically placed to entice, which I take note but all the same the content of the jokes are worth the entrapment at the end of the reading. Thirdly I sometimes come to read the Readers, Digest for their inspirational real life stories that are encouraging and uplifting. The fact that it happened to someone else shows it could also happen tome and I could gained immensely from their experience.
barring the sacred
It is painful to start questioning the most basic truth one has held rigidly for ages. What is more painful is the fact that under scrutiny and investigation this dearly held belief will disintegrate. Then what? Would other similarly held belief crumble if put to the same test? What happens when all we have held as sacred and beyond question just turn out to be myths? What if it turns out to be just one of the many prejudices held by people all over the world? Are we as human and superstitious at that, afraid to find out the truth and set it apart from the fable and myth told only to satisfy the gullible believer?
If all I believe in is to be put to the test, I am sure most of my stereotypic stands would be shattered. I am sure that there is no particular one way about a thing. There are always a different way to look at a thing or a person. The fact that we cannot distinguish distinctively between morally wrong and right says as much. But we don’t want to know this. It is not important as long as our sacred secrets and banal stands are supported by our own fears to go out and discover different.
It saddens because we not only hold onto this stand but most of the times try to recruit others or try and discount their stands on the basis of our own moral high ground. Naively we attest to this fact when most of us are not even on this group. I don’t know what I believe in this world, where what you might think is a good reason to do something turns out later to be a mistake, a mistake that you cannot afford to make.
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