I suppose it is an aging thing. I have begun to notice things that went unnoticed ( to me ) in the past. The most obvious are the television commercials. Now I realize these commercials are designed to sell a product and appeal to the masses. Something I have noticed quite a bit lately is the makeup of the characters. Many commercials are mini stories and as such depict characters. Mom and Dad, brother and sisters, that type of thing. Have you noticed the increase in inter-racial couples? Inter racial couples do make up 15% of all marriages in the United States. Is 15% the norm? I'd say it wasn't. Gay marriages are less than one half of one percent, yet are represented far more frequently. I view this a marketing ploy. We need to include everyone when selling our products. Nothing wrong with that. I do see it as a normalization as well. What our children see on television does influence what they will believe. I'm not a sociologist or anything like that, but it is common sense. By portraying these family units in this way it will be a normal thing to children. This is true with other topics as well, How often do you see commercials about ED? It has become a common thing hasn't it? If I were to mention he has ED, you would most likely know exactly what I was talking about. Would that have been true twenty years ago? I highly doubt that unless you were in the medical field. There are many examples of that sort of thing today. The list of diseases and ailments you may have is a long one and I'd suggest we have all been made aware of them. Well, that's what the drug companies advertise. The promise of a better life! Drugs can make you live longer, enjoy life greater and make you feel young while doing it! That's the basic promise being made.
The advertisements I watched as a kid were quite tame compared to what you may see today. Ever heard of Peyronie's disease? There's a commercial for that. And there are many advertisements for products in case you have " odors " in certain places. If I can smell that, I'm probably a little too close in the first place, but I'll just leave that there. I remember Mom and Dad sitting at the breakfast table eating Cheerios in my youth. Families did things together back then and weren't portrayed as going different directions like so many are today. Of course Mom was always a woman and Dad was always a man. Not the case today. It is a change in expectations isn't it? I mean that is what is being shown, This is what to expect in certain situations. It's the new normal. All the discussion, all the talk about what were " private " conversations between your Doctor, or your Mom and Dad, perhaps a brother are now just out there in the public domain. Are there any topics we shouldn't discuss openly anymore? I 'd say there aren't. Thing is there are certain topics you can only discuss if you support them. To discuss any of those topics in a negative light will get you labeled. In my generation you may have been called square or that you weren't cool. The name calling has gotten much more brutal these days. Now we fling around those fancy terms that few had even heard of before. Migyonist is one of my favorites. Who beside a psych major had ever heard of that before? Xenophobia, homophobia and a few other phobias. The insult to you is supposed to be that you are afraid. Afraid of what is my response. The response is often, what you don't understand. My answer is, I understand I don't like it!
As I said, I guess it is an aging thing. I have become somewhat set in my ways. I'm okay with that. It has taken me this long to decide upon certain things. Now having expended sixty some years coming to a conclusion why would I want to change it? Know what I mean? I believe you do have to make a decision at some point. There comes a time to just stand up, speak your piece, and let the chips fall where they may. Am I too old to change? Nope, but I have decided. Educated or opinionated? A little of both I think. Some things never change. When you are young the changes aren't as obvious. As we age we begin to notice those changes and they can be unsettling. When we are young we support changes as being progressive. When we get old we want to keep the changes we made. Well, sometimes we do anyway. That is where the opinion part of the equation fits in. In my opinion I'm seeing an awful lot of nonsense being pushed as progressive, when in fact those behaviors are regressive. But the pendulum swings both ways and will return one day. I don't think I'll live to see it. No matter, I'll just keep handing out my opinion, free to everyone.
The advertisements I watched as a kid were quite tame compared to what you may see today. Ever heard of Peyronie's disease? There's a commercial for that. And there are many advertisements for products in case you have " odors " in certain places. If I can smell that, I'm probably a little too close in the first place, but I'll just leave that there. I remember Mom and Dad sitting at the breakfast table eating Cheerios in my youth. Families did things together back then and weren't portrayed as going different directions like so many are today. Of course Mom was always a woman and Dad was always a man. Not the case today. It is a change in expectations isn't it? I mean that is what is being shown, This is what to expect in certain situations. It's the new normal. All the discussion, all the talk about what were " private " conversations between your Doctor, or your Mom and Dad, perhaps a brother are now just out there in the public domain. Are there any topics we shouldn't discuss openly anymore? I 'd say there aren't. Thing is there are certain topics you can only discuss if you support them. To discuss any of those topics in a negative light will get you labeled. In my generation you may have been called square or that you weren't cool. The name calling has gotten much more brutal these days. Now we fling around those fancy terms that few had even heard of before. Migyonist is one of my favorites. Who beside a psych major had ever heard of that before? Xenophobia, homophobia and a few other phobias. The insult to you is supposed to be that you are afraid. Afraid of what is my response. The response is often, what you don't understand. My answer is, I understand I don't like it!
As I said, I guess it is an aging thing. I have become somewhat set in my ways. I'm okay with that. It has taken me this long to decide upon certain things. Now having expended sixty some years coming to a conclusion why would I want to change it? Know what I mean? I believe you do have to make a decision at some point. There comes a time to just stand up, speak your piece, and let the chips fall where they may. Am I too old to change? Nope, but I have decided. Educated or opinionated? A little of both I think. Some things never change. When you are young the changes aren't as obvious. As we age we begin to notice those changes and they can be unsettling. When we are young we support changes as being progressive. When we get old we want to keep the changes we made. Well, sometimes we do anyway. That is where the opinion part of the equation fits in. In my opinion I'm seeing an awful lot of nonsense being pushed as progressive, when in fact those behaviors are regressive. But the pendulum swings both ways and will return one day. I don't think I'll live to see it. No matter, I'll just keep handing out my opinion, free to everyone.
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