I am sure all are celebrating by bringing out your favorite cassettes and foam headphones. Grabbing a set of new batteries and jogging around the block.
Right?
For as we all know, it has been exactly 31 years since Sony introduced the iconic Walkman. Hail, hail to the mobile player that binds them all.
31 years. It amazes how much has changed in such a short period. In this one corner of consumerism, we watched an evolution from cassettes to CD’s to Mp3 players. (With a side-branch of personal DVD players.) The ubiquitous term “Walkman” (as in “Did you bring a Walkman?” meaning any personal cassette player or CD player) has transformed to “iPod.” Cassettes briefly battled CDs, that only reigned a short time before entering their own battle with digital downloads.
31 years. Teaching us change is inevitable, the only question being how we role with that change. We can expect it. No one (that I know) is proclaiming the benefits of ancient technology as being better; no one is claiming we need to “get back” to Sony’s intentions with its original Walkman. Bring back re-usable batteries and gangly headphones.
We progress, and adapt with the progression. Celebrate it—it is the defining reason our evolved species has made it this far.
As you probably know, vandals painted the words ”Under God with an arrow” on a Billboard in North Carolina that said, “One Nation, Indivisible.” A number of comments under the Yahoo news cite whined about non-theists who wanted to “change” the Pledge.
Didn’t they know the Pledge has been modified a number of times since the original writing in 1891? Short history on the Pledge to the American Flag.
Change happens. It was changed in the 1950’s to add “under God”—we desire to change it back. What is so surprising about that?
I find it fascinating many of the same people who extol what they claim America’s Founders did in establishing American, and how it should never, EVER be changed…are the some ones who fully embrace and adulate the change in the Pledge from the original author. Which is it—do they like change or not?
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It's a hallmark of dishonest argumentation to promote an agenda indirectly. It would at least be honest to advocate directly for keeping "under God" in the pledge.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone's advocating any position indirectly, one should strongly suspect dishonesty.
Of course, it's not always trivial to determine if someone's advocacy is really indirect. For example, many anti-religious atheists (such as myself) argue strongly for secularism.
Of course, you also have to consider stupidity and ignorance. I would not be at all surprised if many (or even most) people who advocate "not changing" the pledge sincerely believe its present form was set by Washington and Jefferson.
Right! Those people that want certain things never to change have problems, serious problems. Mainly because they're not being consistent. They should be disallowed to have plumbing in their houses and forced to go out to the bush when they need the washroom.
ReplyDeleteWe can't take some change and reject the rest.
Even "Walkman" is a politically incorrect brand name in the 21st century--only 30 years later!
** Lorena
The Barefoot Bum,
ReplyDeleteI do think most people believe the Pledge, while not going all the way back to Washington, would presume it dated to at least Lincoln. And I think most believe it always said, “under God.”
Lorena,
Great catch. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick up on the name, “WalkMAN” when writing this entry. You are correct; such a product name wouldn’t even be used now.
Another example of how things can change, even subtly, that we aren’t even aware until pointed out. “Remember when…” and then we recall it was only a short time ago that AM radio was standard in vehicles.
I do think most people believe the Pledge, while not going all the way back to Washington, would presume it dated to at least Lincoln.
ReplyDeletePerhaps. I was being intentionally hyperbolic.