Discovering the Excitement of LIFE (Part 2) - Day 325

 

 

Continuing with my Previous blog where I started walking the Design of Excitement and how it came to be the stepping stone from which we keep ourselves busy in our mind as the External force that would give us the 'Space' to cope with our Physical Reality.

 

We start our Journey into Excitement Creation already as Childs when our Parents takes us for a trip in the weekend which we look forwards to during the week. We are so excited because we know that the day to day living responsibilities are off for just a moment and we could be 'Free' in a way, stay up late, spend the time with our parents that are normally at work and we know that we are going to get treats that are usually forbidden but are allowed on vacations. We are also very much excited to come back from the trip and tell our friends all about it and what special things we did and you know, deep down we also excited about a momentary feeling of being 'more' than those whom parents cannot afford these vacations.

 

I always had something to look forwards to as a child and as a grownup; whether it was a vacation with my family or a one day trip, or graduating and going to the army and then got excited to get my chance to travel around the world after the army and fly a few times with friends to Thailand. I always created something for me to look forwards to and be excited about but now when I look at it - my Expectations and Excitements NEVER met the Physical reality and I always got disappointed from how things played and it was ok as long as  there was always a point to look forwards to.

At some stage, the money ran out and I couldn't funds my fantasies so I had to create fantasies I can accomplish with no money involved (only after taking a big loan to funds my desires which turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life as I'm still stuck with the consequences). The pattern persists - I create a Desire, I become Excited about it, I start being obsessed and possessed about the possibility of having my desire fulfilled and then I face the Fear of Lose that my Prospect original Desire  won't manifest and I start being more obsessed and possessed by it until I rather get to the point of Excitement only to find out that it wasn't what I was expecting it to be and thus, I become totally depressed that I couldn't get what I wanted and my Fear of lose became the Reality.

 

What have I missed throughout this all Process - the Excitement of being alive through/by/with every single breath I take! I mean, how stupid that is? that we never considered the Breath as Life, as the Ultimate point of Excitement as appreciation that Life is Here and I have a chance to Live with/as my Physical Body because I'm BREATHING and the BREATH is that which gives me Life.

 

So then, What Excitement has to do with Consumerism? Everything! Where do we get all of our ideas that we get excited about if not from the Advertisements, Marketing and commercials we see all around, as the Rewards we can gift ourselves for the hard work we do either in School, job or other responsibilities we carry on.

 

Where have we lost the Real Physical Excitement of a simple thing as Breathing by Externalizing Excitement through gadgets, new clothes, vacations, love, wedding, kids, grandkids all of which required Energy to create within and as ourselves to sustain the Excitement that would be either fulfilled or turns into a complete disappointment which from there, we start again and create the new Excitement point to reach to but we Never stop for a moment to actually investigate our Desires and Fears that are the foundation of our addiction for Energy, for Excitement as the Driving force of ourselves within our lives.

 

It doesn't matter in which form or towards what we are excited about - the Pattern/Design is the same and would circulate in the same way for eternity until we stop.

 

"Why to stop?, who will I be without having anything to look forwards to? Wouldn't it be boring? What would motivate me to be better, greater, extraordinary?".

Yes, I understand that this may be your backchat and/or resistance to what I am sharing so let's look at this in the following way:
The things we are excited about are normally related to Money and the fact that not everyone on earth has the access to these things is in itself invalidate the point within the Equality Equation and the Principle of 'Do to another that which you would like to be done to you'. I would rather live in a world where everyone has access to have a vacation if they wanted to, have access to food or a new cloth if required, I would rather live in a world where we realize the Excitement of Life within each and every breath and within that, consider each other's breath and their Equal right to have their breath within a Life that is worth while.

 

But also, the fact that we conditioned ourselves to a Future External Fantasy/Desire, as a point in the Future we can be excited about is a concerning point by itself from the perspective of us requiring something, in separation of ourselves to motivate and move us instead of us moving and directing ourselves in absolute awareness in any given moment.

 

Now, most of us that have experienced the point of our Excitement that tend to fade away when we finally get to the point of achievement which is in most cases, nothing like we imagined it to be; We then go into a slight sadness or even depression until we get ourselves out of it with a new generation of Energy build up for our next future point to look forward to. So here, when we establish gratefulness within each breath we take and discover what does it really mean 'the Excitement of Life', we won't experience these ups and downs and would simply live as what is best in any given moment. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that by itself the self driven point that would motivate oneself to stand as the expression of Excitement of Breath as Life?

 

 

 

Capitalism and Ignorance is Bliss - Consuming Kids (Part 2) - Day 317

 

Illustration by Isabelle Arsenault

 

This is a continuation to:

Capitalism and Ignorance is Bliss - Day 315

Capitalism and Ignorance is Bliss - Consuming Kids (part 1) - Day 316

 

Problem No.2

Physical Health - Obesity Epidemic

 

Children are exposed to Mass Marketing of Sweats and Candies, Beverages and Foods with no real Nutrition Values from the moment they entered this world.

While the parent Beliefs one is reading their Child a Book that would enhance the Child's Communication, imagination and Language skills, one does not take into consideration the hidden and indirect advertisement existent in the Book's Illustrations that would influence the Child's Nutrition Choices, later on in one's Life and therefor, one's Health and Well-Being. What was supposed to be a tool of Education and Entertainment for children, transformed into a Marketing Place for the Big Corporations.

 

The US food system is the second largest advertiser in the American economy through the massive Marketing over the television, newspaper, magazine, billboard, and radio advertisements - All of which would determines one's Life without one being aware and Conscious about one's Decisions and Choices one is so dearly protest to be Free.

However, what is more concerning is the 'In-School Marketing' that includes Commercial Activities, Direct advertising and indirect advertising and Market Research with Students:

 

* International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

 

Since the 80s, Obesity in Children at the ages of 6-19 has roughly TRIPLED:

 

Source: Childhood Obesity - US Department of Health & Human Services.

 

A literature review by Kaiser Family Foundation highlighted a number of studies that suggested that advertising influenced dietary and other food choices in children, which likely contributed to energy imbalance and weight gain. It is not surprising that Half of the advertising time on Children's TV is devoted to Food Advertising and  While fruit and vegetables as well as grains and beans are rarely aired.

 

The Marketing of the Food ads are done through 'Persuasive Appeals' such as Taste, Fun and Uniqueness. Often, Incentive are introduced like for instance McDonalds' Children Happy Meal that comes with all sorts of Games and Puppets but most importantly, the most beneficial Persuasive Appeal is through connecting the products with the Children's 'Feelings' which would Develop, Create and Design the Child to become an Effective Present and Future Consumer.

Unfortunately, what is not Seen, Realized and Understood is that Advertising directed at children within Persuasive Appealing Technics is by its very nature, Exploitative and unacceptable.

 

Obesity is a significant health problem which the Corporation Elite are form a direct part in it within our Profit Driven Capitalistic System. Obesity can lead to high Health Risk conditions such as Heart disease, stroke, High blood pressure, Diabetes, Cancer and etc.

Within that context, I suggest following Paul's Journey to Life who is working with the Consequences of high level of Sugar intake as a child that had led him to a life with Diabetes Type 1.

 

While the Research indicate specifically the correlation and relationship between Advertisement and Obesity, not much has been done to Prevent the Problem and Support with a Solution that would stop the Harm and Abuse of the Generations to come.

 

Another Problem is the Legitimate Continues Harmful Advertisement through the First Amendment of the United State's Constitution within the realm of commercial free speech. In other words, the First Amendment allow the Big Corporations make the kids suffer from Physical Health problems with a life long Consequences.

The Food and Media Corporation have repeatedly stated that their Advertisement is protected speech under the First Amendment and therefore, up until today, all attempts to Ban TV Commercials targeting Children in the US have failed  regardless the Research that were done, showing that if such era will arise where TV commercial Ads would be banned, we will see dramatic decline of Obesity cases.

 

While Children have no Real Free Choice in what they are being exposed to either at home or at their Environment, we have the power to stand up for a solution that would Prevent a future and much worsen Epidemic to a point of no Return. The Solutions are available and all we have to do is to Decide to walk the correction Process. 

 

Will Continue in the next blog to uncover the Mental Health Problems in relation to Advertisement which from there, I will move Forwards to the Solutions.

 

For further Context and thus Understanding, I suggest Reading and Watching:

Aleksey Graboviy, Consumerism and Its Dangers to Children: A Call for Regulation in Advertising (PDF)

Consuming Kids

Branding Children: Marketing Techniques

International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

Childhood Obesity - US Department of Health & Human Services

W Gantz, N Schwartz, J Angelini, and V Rideout, Food for thought: television food advertising to children in the United States, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2007, viewed 9 September 2010

Paul's Journey to Life

effects of junk food advertising on childhood obesity

Childhood obesity, advertising and the first amendment

Capitalism and Ignorance is Bliss - Consuming Kids (part 1) - Day 316

This is a continuation to:

Capitalism and Ignorance is Bliss - Day 315

 

 

Problem No.1

 

For further Context and thus Understanding, I suggest Reading and Watching:

Aleksey Graboviy, Consumerism and Its Dangers to Children: A Call for Regulation in Advertising (PDF)

Consuming Kids

Schor, J. B. (2004). Born to buy. New York: Scribner

A Woman's Journey to Life - Brainwashed consumers – Part 1 – Day 19

Bachmann Achenreiner, G., & Roedder John, D. (2003). The meaning of brand names to children: A developmental investigation. Journal of Consumer Psychology 

 

Over the Years, the Corporate Profit Driven Capitalism, have evolved itself by utilizing psychologically targeted persuasive technique. That was done with the assistance of Support of Edward Bernays that had showed the American corporations how to make people want things they didn't need by linking mass produced goods to their unconscious desires. (I suggest watching the Documentary 'Century of the Self' for further Understanding of how we have been Brainwashed by the Corporations and those in Power and Control and thus blindly followed our Desires that are/were not even our own).

Throughout the Evolution of the Corporate Marketing, they had perfected their Techniques through extensive Manipulation tactics within the understanding of the Human's Functionality of the Mind into Consumerized Robots.

 

Research were conducted on the Human's Behaviour and Social trends within the starting point of what would produce the most Power and Money to the Corporations which then thus, the focus started to be on Children as not only the indirect Present consumers but the Direct Future Consumers. Accordingly, some Corporations abused this knowledge of the power of Persuasive and thus, could increase sales by Manipulating the Children in Advertisement and thus, indirectly forcing the parents to buy the goods for their children. Obviously, within a Profit Driven System, the Advertisements do not include the necessary information and Education that would provide the children and thus the Parents with the skills and tools to identify whether or not the 'Goods' would result with Harm either Mentally and/or Physically or whether, it may actually support them.

 

According to Juliet B. Schor (Schor, J. B. (2004). Born to buy. New York: Scribner):

The Estimation is that Children are exposed to about 100 Daily Commercials and thus, view, more than 40,000 a year. The Commercials are Designed specifically according to Components such as Gender, Race, Culture and Age which then thus, the influence of the Children's mind is highly Effective.

 

Research done in the 90ties shows that Children can reason and categorize objects on a conceptual basis

already at the age of 18 months old (Carey, 1985; Gelman&Coley, 1990; Mandler, Bauer,& McDonough, 1991) in other words, they are able to recognized Logos and Brand names.

For myself, when working with Children at these ages where they have already developing their Communication skills either with body Movements or Language to express their wants, needs and Desires are - unless you buy them the Dora Candy in the grocery store, you and the entire neighbourhood would hear the screaming of the baby that didn't get the Dora Candy.

 

Schor stating that:

"Upon arrival at the schoolhouse steps, the typical first grader can evoke 200 brands. And he or she has already accumulated an unprecedented number of possessions, beginning with an average of 70 new toys a year. "

http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/fall_2004/ft_schor.html

 

There is nothing Natural in the Development of a consumerism Society that is blindly abused by Deception and Manipulation of the Deliberate Unskilled individuals through Mass Marketing of the big Corporations. The Massive Brainwash start already at age 0 and without the understanding of the Relationship between the Mind and the Physical, no one is really understanding the consequences and the outflows that emerged in the long run and thus can directly connect it to the Corporate mass Advertisements that is currently protected by the First Amendment. This is unfortunate and saying that, I encourage you to start educating yourself with regards to the Relationship between the Mind and the Physical - Studies that no Scientist or Psychologist had ever reached before: Parenting - Perfecting the Human Race.

It is no wonder thus that our values system is distorted and we have no Consideration for LIFE, of those that make LIFE Possible and those who dies, day in and day out for our peruse of Happiness. Instead of Developing Real Life Skills and Intimacy with ourselves and others to become an Effective Human beings in this world that would contribute to the well beings of us all, the Children are forced to a Life of Materialism which follow a real Deep form of Ignorance which we then thus, Perceive and Define as Bliss.

 

Will Continue in the next blog to Expose the Problems in relation to Consuming Kids: Mental and Physical Health which would follow with the Presentation of Solutions Rewards within such application. So stay tuned.