The sensitive, yet frail decibel reading mechanism endured exactly a week, perched in an obscure corridor of the public library. Functioning nominally and recording just shy of 168 hours of noise level data in attempting to process the changing and boisterous atmosphere of a once studious environment, the device simply ceased to work, a machine’s surrender to the tumultuous degradation of traditions of utility being cast into the depths of bureaucratic intolerance.
Before meeting a cataclysmic operational failure, the DIY constructed noise level meter completed its mission in unveiling that the traditionally peaceful environment specified for books, periodicals, research, and study, shockingly had more in common with a busy urban street front, rather than a peaceful oasis of scholastic achievement. Of course, notably absent from the modern public library infrastructure is the human purveyor of “shush”, with an intense penetrating gaze through a tortoise shell frame, that actually instantaneously altered the higher education trajectory of tens of thousands of teenagers in the 1970’s and 80’s for the better, as the hard line warden demanding absolute silence, or else.
The banishment of the librarian from the power pyramid of an arm of municipal government that actually almost functions with the amenities and resources offered to the public, is a microcosm of the crazed maelstrom of the “Me Too” movement in true representation of trickle up consequences of cultural ineptitude. Information specialists, tatted up with punk rocker style hair and boisterous concert voices, have replaced the founding centaurs of peace and quiet and bookshelf mazes of novels. Instead of the existence of a pristine and through provoking symposium of literary and active pursuit, without the ominous presence of homeless loafers, or screaming and boisterous children of parents who fail to assimilate and ceaselessly abuse the smartphone policy in breaking every rule within the lightspeed moments of a $500 million bitcoin heist, chaos persists.
The equation for a prospering society is simple- decorum + accountability + drive = innovation and ingenuity, as the strict adherence conducive in limiting distractions leads directly to mental productivity. But alas, in the digital age of “Do it for no reason, because it makes you feel good”, the organic approach in promoting thought experiments free from constraints is the preferred and inexplicable method in shaping young minds, without actually providing any boundaries or discipline. So, as the younger generations lack a framework of discipline in grasping at the founding principles of achieving critical thought, the boundless infusion of enablement threatens the near future of the Republic currently enduring a one-sided militaristic attempted coup of ideological warfare. The boundaries at the library which are constantly being redefined by the existence of special interests, exist as a metaphor for the current extremist political landscape as progressive pundits race in self driving vehicles towards the setting sun and heading off effective democratic policy at the pass to the West.
While the retro iteration of the librarian sporting gray hair in a sensible bun and shimmering with the ice crystals of a glacier inhabits only memories of decades of sensibility, the news room captain in the form of cantankerous and insatiable editor shares a similar fate, a glaring omission that equates to zero accountability within the ranks of the mainstream media, and opens the floodgates for public figures in the campaign to completely erase morality and scruples from the terrain of public office.
As a child is encouraged in playing a smartphone online game on a couch in the fiction section, the books collecting dust and shuddering under the perpetual whir of insubordinate behavior, a freshmen congresswoman is being lauded for calling the president a “mother******” in front a rowdy bunch of Bernie booster rally, shortly after being sworn into office. The egregious and deplorable actions of progressive Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib would not have been tolerated in the era of the three mega networks and personalities such Walter Kronkite and the golden age of the print giants in effectively chaperoning the behavior of certain individuals unable to adhere to community standards. Tlaib, had every opportunity to retract her disgusting statement, but in true form of the radical left, chose to deflect the obscenity as a rallying cry for the latitude to aggressively engineer society, reports the Washington Examiner. Of course, the blatantly biased social network platforms included an overwhelming and disturbing majority of support for the activist turned politician, in the form of numerous anonymous user accounts facing absolutely no consequences, while ensconced in vile banality.
Naturally, in the contemporary political climate, Tlaib, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is incapable of any wrong doings in the eyes of the gatekeepers at CNN and MSNBC and has a get out jail free card in publicly criticizing opponents, regardless of the intrepid vulgar nature of the message. Other than announcing the plans for the next 9/11, the sky is limit for her and fellow fab first year colleagues in morphing the role of the public servant into a societal critic demanding column space on the editorial page with all the subtle nuances of Andrew Dice Clay. The conflict of interest in sharing personal opinions while attempting to serve constituents, is apparently not a concern for social justice warriors or library dissidents, as long as the rhetoric fits the narrative like a snugly pair of innocuous Uggs overburdening the closet space of Hillary Clinton with an Imelda Marcos magnitude of thousands of pairs of designer footwear funded by the hemorrhaging and deflection of Clinton Foundation contributions. Membership indeed has its privileges.
It all ties together, as Tlalib and contemporaries have never faced such a powerful force of nature in the form of the gracefully surely alpha librarian providing a Catholic school style layer of discipline outside of the home in shattering rambunctious childhood dreams, the fear of retribution is not ingrained, especially in using reasonable discretion when publicly yammering and pontificating in garish and disrespectful tones. The alarming trend of political figures crossing the line of indecency will continue without the recourse of a strong and unbiased editorial presence within the ranks of the mainstream media and social network moderators. If unresolved, the continued lack of institutional control will result in a prevalence of fake news, disinformation, and worse, a complete imbalance in representing the entire political spectrum and eliminating productive dialogue between adversaries.
The short term solution would be to instill a strong sense of discipline with the legions of youth trapped in a confusing digital world of instant gratification lacking healthy boundaries, and hope that the investment into the future pays dividends for a country facing relentless divisiveness. This process would involve unleashing the power of the retro matrons of society on the younger generations in eliminating snarkiness, as teachers, nuns, librarians, nannies, and judges utilize a tough love approach to reestablishing values and protocol with the occasional sharp word, pointed gesture, or a good old fashioned ringing of the neck. As parents and electronic devices have proved rather inept in providing adequate supervision, utilize the past to restore the future, and “shush” those individuals set on changing the country for the worst.
It all starts with enforcing simple protocol.
Read the Washington Examiner story here.