Happily into the abyss

I read a rather distressing statistic the other day, according to the article we use about 3,000 words in our modern vocabulary and in Shakespeare's day they used about 60,000 words!  I knew the modern state of the English language was in dire straits but I did not know how bad it truly was.  Though if one thinks for a moment of the stuff that passes for culture in this day and age I suppose it is not surprising.  Texting (shudder) is the communication method of choice.  Your average TV show has less plot and character development than a comic strip; this does not even begin to consider the crude humor, base language, and dreadful stories.  The only movies they make any more are super hero flicks, bad remakes of classics, and things that are best left unmentioned.  Check any social media site or message board for lovely examples of modern English!  I think if I taught English today I might become suicidal. 

But it is so much easier to float along in the sewer of pop culture than it is to have an original thought or think for oneself.  We no longer have to collect the facts, analyze them, and draw a conclusion; we merely listen to the talking/texting/typing heads and repeat what they tell us without any analysis or critical thoughts.  Our minds have become a subway for information: in our ears and out our mouths/fingers without a thought or detour along the route.  We do not dig deep and look at things from all sides, we merely smile and nod and move on to the next fascinating cat video.  We have forgotten how to think, to analyze, to reason.  But how can the modern generation be blamed for their technologic euphoria?

Beauty and meaning have died somewhere along the way.  There is no truth or purpose in anything, so why invest time and effort in things that are not entertaining?  Higher criticism teaches us that it is not the meaning of a text that is important but what we think it means or should mean.  Does anyone actually find modern art attractive?  Modern literature is some of the most dreadful prose that has ever had the unfortunate chance to find its way into print.  Has there been a great piece of music written in the last fifty years?  Why are there numberless college classes covering obscure movies and their impact on society, but you can hardly find a descent history or English class anymore? 

Meaninglessness has smothered our souls and therefore our ability to think, enjoy, and create.  We drown our soullessness in endless draughts of technology, social media, and entertainment, much as a disheartened man might for a time forget his sorrows with drink.  The terrible thing is that there is so much beauty out there, so many good books, wonderful works of art and music, but we have not the time nor temperament to imbibe and enjoy them.  Be a rebel and read a great book!  Share one with your kids and friends!  Help stop our culture from sliding irrevocably into the abyss of mindlessness.