Listen....Can You Hear Them?

 It seems as if the majority of people in the United States have a very nearsighted point of view when it comes to anything they consider “foreign”. What I mean by “foreign” is anything or anyone that does not fit the stereotype of “red, white, and blue, flag waving, apple pie eating, Chevrolet truck driving, soccer mom minivan carpooling, living in the suburbs or in the trailer park, or whatever else you might think they are” American way of seeing things. We do not all fit this stereotype of course. But according to Wall Street and those in power when it comes to the mass media in this country, none of us are interested in anything that doesn't fit what they think we want to see. Those in control of the mass media think that the average American is dull, uneducated, uncomprehending, racist and uninterested in knowing what people in other countries think, or how they live, or what is important to them. I can't say I don't know people like that. But most of the people I know are very interested in what is happening in other parts of the world when it is brought to their attention. Unfortunately, what is happening to people in other parts of the world, and what they think or how they sing, is rarely brought to our attention. If we want to see the news from a country in the middle east, or hear music from eastern Europe or Africa, we don't have much choice. Luckily the Internet has changed a lot for recent generations when it comes to finding out what is happening on the other side of the world. But still, most of us don't go looking for music from South Africa or movies from Afghanistan. We just don't think of it. And if we do think of it, we don't have much choice in finding these things. The voices of those on other continents are too faint for us to hear.

Some would say “why should we care about what kind of music or movies they are making in India or China?...they don't speak English and they don't live the kind of lives we do.” How would we know if we don't look? Many Americans believe that this country was founded on Christian principles. The Christian religion states that we are all children of God and we are all created in His image. The United States Declaration of Independence states that that we are “all created equal”. (I know...some would argue that the ones “created equal” are the people who wrote the declaration...those living in the United States.) But if Americans really believe that we are all human beings and are all basically the same, then why are we so uninterested in our “brothers and sisters” and what they think and how they live? Somehow I think that if Americans were exposed to other cultures as easily as they are exposed to their own, they would look and listen.

So the question is “how do subaltern voices 'get a hearing' in today's mass media?” Unfortunately, the choices and opportunities are few. Since the mass media has almost complete power over what Americans see and hear, we are daily subjected to the ideas and concepts that a small, powerful group of people think is important. And the subaltern voices of people in countries like South Africa and Pakistan are definitely not what they think is important. Of course, if someone from one of these countries were to show up in America with millions of dollars and the will to use that money to find an agent to “market” them to the American public, you can be sure that we would at least be subjected to a watered-down, Americanized version of them. They would never be able to present themselves as they really are since the American public would never accept someone so “ethnic” and “foreign” to ourselves.

I say this is humbug! (Well maybe I wouldn't say humbug...maybe it would be a different word...but this is a public forum.)

I really believe that if Americans were given the opportunity, those guys in their glass skyscrapers on Wall Street would be surprised. And guess what the outcome would be if we were all exposed more often to the thoughts and ways of people in those “foreign” countries? They would stop being foreign and no longer considered “subaltern” to us. We would see that they really are just like us....with the same hopes and dreams and problems that we have.

And who knows what would happen if we all stopped thinking of “those people over there” as foreigners...maybe we would be less willing to drop bombs on them or be scared of them. And finally they could stop being scared of us.

What a concept.

If you really are interested in finding out about what is happening on other continents...watching their newscasts, seeing their documentaries or hearing their latest music, then I suggest you tune in to LINKTV. They are a cable/satellite network that is owned by the viewers who chose to watch and support them. And they offer the best in documentaries, world music, and other programming that will open your eyes to many cultures and countries and their viewpoints. Why leave CNN to tell you what is happening in Iraq? Try watching the newscasts from Iraq and then use your own intelligence to decide what you think.

Www.linktv.org