Often times we get caught up in the outrageous noise of conventional living and fail to recognize the real messages that surround us. Yes, there are the blaring ones of commercialism, but there are also some of truth and responsibilty. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to the Democratic Debates in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, sponsored by the South Carolina Legislative Caucus. While there were rampant messages of partisan politics, it was those voices that had something more to say than mere praises in support of one candidate or another that touched my spirit. I realized how truly tuned out I was becoming.
I traveled to Myrtle Beach with a broad coalition of student leaders dedicated to propelling the message of a clean energy future to political leaders through their grassroots efforts. Many of these students don’t receive any type of monetary compensation for their work, but you wouldn’t know this by their displays of dedication to the cause.The students made conference calls the entire drive en route to Myrtle Beach, honing their talking points and presentation. When we arrived they hit the ground running with media advisories, signs,petitions,polar bear suits,and an energy which cannot wholly be explained.
I had the opportunity to document most of the experience with my hand held video camera. Perhaps one of the most intense moments of the day came when the group was met with direct resistance from the organization Clean Coal. Personally, I thought clean coal sounded legitimate and right, I was quickly told that ,”there is not such thing as clean coal!”Several paid workers from that organization, armed..or rather backed…with these bilboard body hangings shouted out their positions, and the clean energy future students put up a fight. It was amazing to see people standing behind something so fervently. It was discouraging to me that this portion of the story will make it only onto the pages and screens of several media groups. Students fighting for clean energy initiatives and even those who say that coal is clean… don’t make for sexy journalism. One of the students with the group approached a local television reporter from the upstate and asked if they were interested in that angle of the story. The reporter replied that they were focusing more on the sand structures which stood in the same field where the rally was taking place. My heart dropped, reminded of the game they play for ratings.
While at the debates I also had the opportunity to speak with a guy who was passing out flyers for Clean Coal. He was able to talk a little about the message they were sending and why they thought that their position was the right one. You can hear this as soon as I find the time to edit and upload the video.
I also spoke with a group traveling from Washington, DC. They were here to demand healthcare for AIDS patients. They want the presidential candidates to come up with a specific plan and articulate it. They were chanting loud and clear in a call and response manner, “when people with aids are under attack what do we do? act up…fight back.” Again, you wont really see this on television..nothing more than some nat sound in between the reporter voice track…to help demonstrate the point of people were fired up! Yes, I had heard this message before..but was I listening to what they said. I interviewed two of the people there with the group to get a better understanding of their position.
The youthful energy in Myrtle Beach yesterday was amazing. It was reassuring to see that while many have written off the future leaders of America as consumed by consumerism, there are still some fighting for change and awareness. Change has been the buzzword of the year for presidential campaigns, but it seemed only appropriate on the day we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, that we were in a place where the political landscape has changed(with the first woman and African American candidates)…and where there are young Americans who are out standing behind their beliefs. While it may not be a sit it or one which resulted in bloodshed, I think Dr. King would have been proud yesterday and for the direction that we are headed.
I understand this post is a collection of scattered thoughts..but hey it is a blog after all. In conclusion, I am also guilty of not looking deeper into the messages that are thrown my way each day. I take most of them as fact. Clean coal is clean…the end. It is not the end, we must care enough to look deeper, and we must look further than the news media to give us these details. Not all messages are easy enough to put into a 30 second clip with cool music and graphics. They take time, research, energy, and a body of people willing to work until the job is done.
There are many messages…but are we tuned out to the ones that matter?
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.