The Patriot

Media Credit: R. Barry [Click to enlarge]

    Whoever said “no man is an island” never crossed Kogan Plaza. Once in tune with the rhythm of our footsteps, the melody of the song-bird, and the harmony of a gentle breeze, we now plug our ears in egocentric rebellion. With the introduction of the iPod—and countless similar MP3 contraptions—we personalize even the most mundane tasks, like walking a short distance to class. Where we once enjoyed shared experiences, we now exercise omnipotence over our individual worlds.

    With each technological advance a handful of cranks (like me?) rebuke the new mechanism, fearing that something essential to humanity will be lost in the turning gears. So far we’ve survived the technology explosion, yet we are increasing dependent on elaborate gizmos. It is almost as if the machines have begun to use us more than we use them.

    The iPod is a fine example of a machine that we could do very well without. Though I am not promoting Luddism (heck, I sit basking in the dim glow of a computer screen as I write this sentence) I find the iPod to be a particularly odious creation, and I see at least three strong arguments against it. It is bad for music, bad for the soul, and bad for civilization.

    A long time ago (though not too long ago) music was a sophisticated and intellectual art form. It did not permeate our lives, but was experienced in specific contexts. A couple would attend a concert for the purpose of appreciating music. If Cousin Gertrude could play the piano, the family would gather around to enjoy her talent. With the advent of radio, parents and children would sit together in the evening and experience a symphony in their own home. Music was cherished.

    As technology advanced, music became more portable, and in the process, mundane. Christine Rosen, in her New Atlantis article “TiVo, iPod, and the Age of Egocasting,” made many of these points eloquently. She quotes music columnist Norman Lebrecht, who said the Sony Walkman cheapened the art of music more than any other invention. It made music banal: “It becomes a utility, undeserving of more attention than drinking water from a tap.” The Walkman “devalued magnificence and rendered it utilitarian.”

    This trend is ever more noticeable with iPod. Whereas music was once appreciated in-and-of itself, it has now become distraction; filler between events. The iPod favors simple, thoughtless music, often little more than a drum machine and a melodic hook. It is “candy music;” iPod is a candy dispenser. Thanks to this technology, modern music is less thoughtful and artistic, more vulgar and primal. The decline of art, specifically music, continues.

    The iPod is also bad for the soul. Our generation grew up on a steady diet of bells and whistles. The toys we were given when we were young frequently featured flashing lights, moving parts, and programmed noises. As soon as we understood what it was, we were glued to the television. In grade school we began surfing the Web. We have been constantly stimulated by light and sound, to the point where silence is chilling. To sit and just be—it’s nearly impossible. The great American philosopher, Bob Dylan, once said, “Experience teaches us that silence terrifies people the most.”

    The iPod provides continuous auditory stimulation. It is a buffer between us and silence. Music, always at the ready, is a quick escape from whatever. We are a generation who cannot stand to be alone with ourselves.

    Furthermore, we are dependent on this little machine to keep us entertained. While music can be good for the soul, depending on it is an unhealthy addiction. iPod feeds addictions. If it were gone, could we survive without music in the ear, as billions of humans did before the last half of the 20th century? Would we know what to do with ourselves if the bells stopped ringing, if the whistles no longer blew? What is the state of our souls when all is quiet?

    As mentioned in the opening paragraph, iPod not only cuts us off from ourselves, but it also cuts us off from the rest of the world. As Christine Rosen points out, “iPod is marketed as the technology of the disconnected individual, rocking out to his headphones, lost in his own world.” Clearly many college students seek escape from the world. On the weekends it is easier: escape is at the bottom of a Vodka bottle, or beer cans, or whatever your preference. Disconnection from the world is more challenging on the weekdays, but the iPod is a small step in the “right” direction. We are funny creatures here at GW, both trying to save the world, and escape the world, at the same time.

    Rosen says that the iPod fosters “absent presence.” She is right. Is that man, white wires dangling from his ears, really “there” as he is walking down the street? Is that woman, clasping that little white box, really “there” on the Metro? Or are they semi-there, semi-somewhere else? Is it good for our souls to spend so much time half-present?

    Third, iPod is bad for the soul because it offers a false sense of control. As Rosen points out, the makers of iPod have, “created a world where the individual’s control over the content, style, and timing of what he consumes is nearly absolute.” She says that this little machine allows us to “make a fetish of our preferences.” In all things, at all times, we demand control. We demand choice. We want omnipotence.

    The iPod feeds off of a utopian fantasy: that we can make our individual world perfect by controlling every nook and managing every cranny of our lives. We are increasingly ill equipped to deal with real life. Death does not have a stop button, sickness and disappointment cannot be skipped with a click-wheel; in this world we still have trouble. Manipulating every aspect of existence with technology gives us the impression that control is ours, but it isn’t. We are self deceived.

    Feeding our obsessions for control and autonomy is bad for the soul because we were not created to be autonomous creatures. We were made to live in community, to give up personal “rights” for the greater good, and to follow the moral law written on our hearts. The fetish of personal preferences makes us self-centered and small-minded.

    Consequently, iPod is bad for civilization. It gives us the illusion that the world revolves around us. We want things now. We would like to live independently, doing whatever we want, whenever we want. Every desire becomes a “right”. Civilization cannot long survive such widespread selfishness.

    Secondly, in today’s world, every man is a culture unto himself. There are few common experiences that we, as a society, share. Once people worried about the affect of multiculturalism on America. Could we survive without cultural unity? The situation is worse now. There are three-hundred million cultures in America today, each individual creating their own. What happens to a civilization when people cannot communicate because each person’s worldview is so markedly different? Can we live without common ground…when each man and woman is an island?

    And so, the iPod will lead to the end of civilization. This is hyperbole, of course. The iPod is probably not that bad. But it is part of some important trends that we need to seriously question. Philosopher Neil Postman, in considering technology, said we should ask ourselves, “What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?” How would we answer that for iPod? Is it that we cannot stand five minutes of silence? That we can’t tolerate listening to any music other than the exact song we want to hear at the moment we want to hear it? What is the problem? Maybe it is time to unplug our ears and listen for the song bird.

Rick Barry is Editor in Chief Emeritus of the GW Patriot.

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