The News of The Day

This is my first blog is this series so I think a brief introduction is in order. My name is Darla Ferrara and I’m a writer. In today’s literary world, by definition, that means I am also a blogger. Not my choice but the world has spoken. I have one novel under my belt, Living with the Gray Tones. I have also published a few short stories. I maintain another blog on my website, titled Anecdotes from 435, which details my experiences working at a local restaurant. Google my name if you’re curious. Having said that, lets get on with it.

Leave My Memories Alone

Mackenzie Phillips … if you’re old enough, you will remember the TV Sitcom, One Day at a Time. Mackenzie played the older of two girls being raised by a single mom, Ms. Romano. I loved that show and I loved the character played by Mackenzie. She was a smarmy teenager trying to deal day by day. The show was full of important subjects and hilarious one-liners. It’s a nice memory.

Well, these memories were shattered yesterday by Mackenzie’s announcement of an incestuous relationship with her father, John Phillips of the Mammas and the Papas.

California Dreamin … another nice memory … now, not so much.

The statement appalled me, as it did the rest of the world, no doubt. However, as I read the article, I found myself more upset by the fact that she would discuss this very personal tidbit publicly. I have a saying I use at work quite a bit when someone feels the need to share with me.

“There are something’s I’m just happier not knowing.”

Yesterday morning, I woke up with nice memories of Mackenzie and the old show. Today, I woke up with an entirely different view of her.

In history, the decades have felt the need to distinguish themselves and we have labeled them accordingly. For instance, the 80’s we called ‘The Me Generation’. The 90’s was referred to ‘Generation X’.

I think the appropriate term for the 2000’s will be something like, ‘I’m a Media Whore’.

The need we’ve developed to draw attention to ourselves by shocking the world makes me just a little bit queasy. The proverbial fifteen minutes of fame has now become two months of internet gossip followed by the inevitable Reality TV show. Even tragedies become public fodder. The deaths of Jett Travolta, Michael Jackson, and Anna Nicole Smith are updated hourly with news of court battles and publication of personal documents.

What’s even more horrifying is the fact that I click and read every morsel. The sensationalism feeds a part of my brain that I didn’t even know existed until the invention of the World Wide Web. The internet has become a brothel, ran by the Media, and kept in business by johns like me. I was happier before I knew about Mackenzie and John Phillips sexual encounter. I never wondered about Michael Jackson’s bedsores or the details behind Princess Diana’s affairs until they were shoved in my face. Events that will shape this decade in the history books, such as the war in Iraq and the depressed economy, are being pushed to the side by stories of Jon Gosselin and Britney Spears.

Well, I suppose, it is what it is. This decade is almost gone. My hopes are for the next one. I, personally, would like to see it labeled the decade of ‘Personal Boundaries’. I guess we will see.

Till next time,
Peace
Darla