Adding to the Noise

"What's it gonna take to slow us down
to let the silence spin us around?
What's it gonna take to drop this town?
We've been spinning at the speed of sound.

Stepping out of those convenience stores
what could we want but more more more?
From the third world to the corporate core
we are the symphony of modern humanity, yeah"

--Adding to the Noise by Switchfoot

Have you ever stopped and thought about how noisy our world as Americans has become? We have iPods, Blu-Rays, DVD's, CD's, Plasmas, LCD's, LED's (which I'll admit do look awesome), surround sound, movie theaters, car stereos, blackberries, cell phones, iPhones, etc., etc., etc. That list could be almost endless. There are literally hundreds of things in our everyday world that contribute to noise. Sure, I have an iPod. Very few people nowadays don't have an iPod or some other sort of music player, but how often do you use it to drown out other noise? Doesn't it seem a little odd to be using noise to suppress noise?

I work in a job where I am blessed to have opportunities for peace and quiet while I work. Often if I'm in the office the only sounds I have to hear are the clock ticking and my fingers rapping away on the keyboard. Every now and then the phone rings or the radio goes off but it doesn't happen constantly. If I'm out in the woods all it takes is for me to stop whatever I'm doing for a minute and listen. Usually all I hear are the birds. I hear God's creation and it sounds so much better than any of man's creations! It is peaceful. It is restful. It is refreshing. I love it!

I don't think we were meant to live a life of noise. I think we were meant to live a life of connection to other people. Too many times we're in large groups of people but we have no idea what is going on with the people near us. We go to a concert and it's so loud you have to wear earplugs to keep your ears from ringing or even bleeding. It's so loud you can't even understand the words to the songs. What's the point? This happens across the board too. I've been to many "Christian" concerts and left having an appreciation for the musicians talent in playing their instruments, but having understood only about 25% of the lyrics. Are we really spreading the gospel by drowning out the words and damaging people's hearing? I think not.

This past week Meredith and I had a great vacation through Florida with stops in Crystal River, Englewood, & Orlando (Disney & Sea World). We spent a lot of time in the boat at Crystal River (when it wasn't raining) and Englewood. Other than the noise of the boat when we stopped it was generally relaxing. Disney World & Sea World - my goodness I couldn't believe the noise. I've been to both places several times and I can't ever remember a time when it was so loud. The people were loud, the rides were loud, the music was loud, the shows were loud, everything was just noise. It was exhausting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the trip, but I was amazed at the general noise. Disney was the worst. I had trouble focusing on what was happening where. It was hard to talk to each other standing in line for rides or while eating lunch. It was over stimulation of the worst kind. I guess they're trying for the "wow" factor but to me it was just too much. If we had kids right now I would hesitate greatly before taking them to Disney. I don't want my kids being bombarded constantly with that much stuff. It can't be good for them.

I think our society now has a vested interest in keeping everything noisy. After all, if it's noisy then nobody can hear the cries for help, nobody can hear the shouts of joy, nobody can hear the pleas for the innocent, nobody can focus on anything but themselves. We want it to be noisy because it's easier than having to hear & see the difficult challenges in front of us. It's much easier to be oblivious than to be informed. We are lost in & consumed by the noise.

By the way, consumerism of our society relates to the noise, but that's a whole 'nother post for another day when I have time to think it all out. No guarantees for a timeline on that!

In the meantime, are you adding to the noise?