Commentary

Tell the Truth

The Real Heroes

We live in a strange time, during which what happens on a theater or TV screen seems more real to us than what is happening in our own lives. Our heroes, therefore, are pro athletes, movie stars, and non-existent super heroes. The athletes are pampered right out of high school, and we wonder why they turn out like Terrell Owens and Jay Cutler. The actors have way too much love and attention, for acting brave in front of a camera. And the superheroes are twelve year old fantasies we used to pore over as kids out of sheer boredom.

The real heroes are behind the scenes: our troops, fighting the war on terrorism 'over there' so we don't suffer casualties here, the police, who risk their lives every day to help keep the streets safer, the firemen, who at a moment's notice, will run into a burning building to save a life, because there's no such thing as spiderman, the teachers, who inspire and direct our children so their lives have meaning, and make the world a better place, and the nurses, who do twice the work of doctors for half the pay.

What do all these real-life heroes have in common? First, they are not recognized as such. We take them for granted. And second, they are shamelessly underpaid. So come on, folks, wake up to the people who make our lives possible, and pay them a living wage. They give us so much; let's give them something back.

Christopher Leadem

Aragorn Books

Thu, April 2, 2009 | link

The Changing Face of Writing

I'm a novelist, and have been for thirty years. I have every possible interest in a strong and flourishing written word. And yet it is falling by the wayside.

Why? Part of it is technology: cable TV, the Internet, Cell Phones, and even films. All these things are easy to take in, require no brainwork and very little time. I know exactly one person in my workplace of hundreds who actuall carries books with her and reads, usually while smoking. And these are hardly works of literature, rehashed plots by the same few writers, and only one step above that emotional pornography, the so-called 'Historical Romance', which is neither.

Even when there is something 'hot' on the shelves, like "The Da Vinci Code," people wait for the film, and realize, in this case, they didn't miss a thing.

So what's to be done. There are still good writers and good books out there; but who is going to spend $40 for something that looks good on the coffee table?

Ironically, the same thing that helped bring down not only books, but also newspapers and magazines, is adding its convenience to go with this hurried and multi-choiced life we have created. Technology. How, you ask?

I've been listening to books on tape for ten years, a good way to 'read' fifty books a years. Tapes, CD's, downloads, and now a little box the size of an IPOD that you can get from the library free, and all you have to do is plug in your headphones.

I have a vested interest here, too, but some good news to share. Project Gutenberg and other sites (like mine, Aragorn Books), offer free downloads that can be read on laptops, cell phones, computers. Real books, real reading, and no more timid publishers afraid to take a chance on new talent (one of the reasons they're dying).

If you can find a better deal, take it.

Peace,

Christopher Leadem

Wed, April 1, 2009 | link

Mean Music Sucks

There is a disturbing trend in music today, not only in hip-hop, but heavy metal as well. It is not only the glorification of violence, but of violence against women as well. Call me crazy, when I was six years old my father told me, "Never hit a girl." It's that simple, and that profound.

When STP writes, "When the dogs begin to smell her," are we to hate women so much as to murder them and bury them in a swamp. When Metallica's lead singer (who has a wife and children, and should know better) sings, "Born to push you around," is he really advocating domestic violence.

I'm a musician myself, with a heavy metal album on this site. But I never once advocate violence against women. Why should I? Jesse Jackson once said words to the effect that: you're not a man because you can make a baby; you're a man because you can raise one.

Well, angry youngsters, it's just that simple. You're not a man because you can beat a woman; you're a man because you can love one. Those who beat or in any way abuse women are just cowards.

Peace out,

Christopher Leadem

Sat, March 28, 2009 | link

2009.04.01 | 2009.03.01

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Aragorn Books