MEDIA AND MODERNISM

MEDIA AND MODERNISM

Society’s  Disvalues

          Today’s values (or rather, disvalues) may well produce a warped appreciation of a woman’s self-identity. Women are in danger of developing an identity that simply does not include being a mother. It may include going through college, obtaining a degree, landing a good job, even getting married some day. But the sudden intrusion of pregnancy is perceived as a complete loss of control over their present and future selves. It shatters their sense of who they are and want to become. The alternatives for them in such a society-induced mentality are “my life is over” or “the life of this new child is over.” Such a mindset, lost in the wilderness of inept moral leaders, will almost invariably influence moral choices on the basis of a pragmatic calculus with disastrous consequences.

To quote Cardinal Basil Hume

          “The interest of society as a whole demands that we do all we can to foster a society in which every child is a wanted child, in which family life is protected and supported, in which sexual intimacy is reverenced as the point at which life and love meet, and in which each and every human life, from the moment of conception, is respected and protected.”

(cf. The Tablet, 27 March ‘99, pg. 452)

Modernization is only one aspect or dimension of the process of human development.

Human development is actually the object or target of this process which we hope that modernization will bring about. Modernization may benefit a large segment of humanity if it means the availability of material goods and appliances. But is human development restricted to the availability of new models of material goods? Does not the good or, rather, the betterment of man demand a greater appreciation of social, moral and spiritual values? It certainly does in my opinion. Here is where the media come in, for the media are the means of effective communication and dialogue from which no human being should be excluded. We hope that the means of communication will be made available to every world citizen in order that dialogue and the sharing of artistic, moral and religious values will effectively human well being. The media is an indispensable factor here. Use of the media will even help men and women to understand the very content, meaning and benefit of the concept of modernization.

Education plays an essential role here, and by that I mean the growth of a well formed and up and coming humanity competent to handle the challenges of a modernizing community. We hope that young minds will learn the art of dialogue in order to appreciate the history and culture of all peoples, and we hope that the means of communication (which includes travel) will play a large part in this. With the presupposition of open minds and willingness to learn, our young people will move out of the strictures of mere traditionalism in the adventure of discovery of other forms of human expression.

Westernisation need not be the model of development, but East and West, North and South can learn to interact for the enrichment of a common humanity. While maintaining their particular lifestyles and cultures they will accept that openness and appreciation is an integrating feature of every lifestyle.

My thesis, therefore the media is a great gift and also a task that can be brought to play towards a fuller, richer and healthier humanity. If this is modernization, then it is an ongoing task.

I have tried to prove my point by appealing to the basic dynamics of human nature, namely, the tendency for communication, forming relationships and expressing one’s needs and emotions in symbols, words and actions.

  

TRADITION

In the heart of man there is a nostalgia for God that man articulated through cultural forms and philosophy. To know the truth as it really is; no one wants to be deceived about the truth of things. The sign of maturity is to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Human progress depends on it. So it is essential to pursue values that are true, transcendent values. We need answers to questions of life and destiny, answers that are universal and ultimate, answers that no not fascinate but satisfy. In shaping their philosophies, traditions and systems, people are yearning to reach the certitude of truth, of absolute value. So the human being is defined as one who seeks the truth. The search for truth may be hampered, but is not vain or useless or beyond man’s capacity.

There are modes of truth  -  that arrived at by scientific research

                                             -  that arrived at by philosophy

                                             -  that arrived at by religion

Philosophy can shape a comprehensive vision for interpreting life. This includes critically evaluating human traditions and beliefs. Knowledge acquired through belief can be personalised but without breaking interpersonal relationship and trust. Seeking the truth must enhance the community of man.

33. “It is the nature of the human being to seek the truth. This search looks not only to the attainment of truths which are partial, empirical or scientific; nor is it only in individual acts of decision-making that people seek the true good. Their search looks towards an ulterior truth which would explain the meaning of life. And it therefore a search which can reach its end only by reaching the absolute. Thanks to the inherent capacities of thought, man is able to encounter and recognise a truth of this kind. Such a truth  -  vital and necessary as it is for life  - is attained not only by way of reason but also through trusting acquiescence to other persons who can guarantee the authenticity and certainty of the truth itself. There is no doubt that the capacity to entrust oneself and one’s life to another person and the decision to do so are among the most significant and expressive human acts.

It must not be forgotten that reason too needs to be sustained in all its searching by trusting dialogue and sincere friendship. A climate of suspicion and distrust, which can beset speculative research, ignores the teaching of the ancient philosophers who proposed friendship as one of the most appropriate contexts for sound philosophical enquiry. “

Christian faith comes to meet people on their way to the truth. More than simple believing, faith immerses them into the mystery of Christ. Divine truth does not oppose philosophical perceptions but combines towards the fullness of the unity of truth. The God of creation is also the God of salvation, giving intelligibility to science and philosophy as He reveals himself in Christ.