Guy White, animator and creator of The Neighborhood Official 2016 Our Week of Peace Peace Sign

The Neighborhood Official 2016 Our Week of Peace Peace Sign

FROM SACRAMENTO, 7TH BORN PRODUCTIONS with
‘WORLD’ THE 2016 OFFICIAL OUR WEEK OF PEACE ANTHEM

DAY THREE: MEDIA AND PEACE
with Kendall F. Person and Ned Hickson

KENDALL F. PERSON, THEPUBLICBLOGGER
THE NEIGHBORHOOD CREATOR
SACRAMENTO

Media and Peace  / Perception & Intent
written & edited by Kendall F. Person

Until the advent of the internet and social media caught on, and before we begin to recognize that we were now a society online, the vast majority of our information, we derived from limited sources, whose intent we did not question even though, they controlled or clouded our perception. But increasing the depth to our information pool and acquiring a larger scope of knowledge sources, was not all we gained. When technology enabled each one of us to become our own satellite to the world, we became purveyors of our own inner and outer perception, and perhaps initially unaware, that we would also be defined by our own intent.

In the city in which I live, for close to 40 years, there has been only one printed daily. And for at least that long, the residents of the north side of town have complained about the perception painted by its intentional use of words or phrases, that were out of place and not inline with the article, and more  unfortunate, were the stories that were simply omitted. But our voices fell upon deaf ears, as few positive stories and a minimal, if any, of building of internal stars – outside of the sports genre  – were told about the residents of the north; and the few that were reported were always spun with damning words like ‘gritty’ and ‘the mean streets’ which took away all value, leaving perception unchanged.

But we grew up knowing there was good and bad, happy and sad, economically sound and struggling in all shades of the spectrum and on all sides of town. We may not have understood intent initially – that their way of reporting was less an angle and more a philosophy – and there were challenges unique to our community, but never did we perceive ourselves as undeserving, nor did we see our schools as gritty and the mean streets they mentioned so casually out of context and loudly in, was in actuality, our neighborhood – our home.

To say we were not affected, would be untruthful because we were. Economically marooned until recent years, and so often forced to defend our community, as not a bastion of crooks and thieves, was a price we paid indeed. But ironically and  unintentionally, the biggest loss may have been endured by residents who lived elsewhere, by those who trusted the daily -all those years of being afraid of the north and the people that lived there. Creating a divide, festering a pre-ordained conflict and denying a peaceful state of mind for all  residents combined, was an unnecessary burden for America’s most diverse city.

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In the year 2016, we comprehend, that each and every one of us has become  a reporter, able to broadcast news around the globe. No longer dependent upon a single source, whose intention has clouded trust. But just as importantly, the new frontier has allowed us to meet the people or travel vicariously to the places, that we perceived to be a threat to our well being; a menace to society.

We should seek out voices broadcast from smaller satellites, as an accompaniment to our mainstream medium of choice, and do not be afraid nor hesitant to share. Be not shy about joining a discussion and sharing our knowledge and wisdom. But in each discussion, we should also see ourselves as students, so that we know, what we did not know before. And if we do not scream and shout, with the sole intent of maiming or drowning  the dissenting voice out, even at the end of a heartfelt debate, if we have been unable to change a single mind, or if we remain sound in our stance from start, we have acquired the understanding, that while we may have differences of opinion, those differences do not place us in boxes of either good or bad people.

No longer is it necessary to debate or pretend that media does not hold the power to color perception. Nor is it necessary to ascertain a medium’s intent; as long as we understand our own. And each time we broadcast via our satellite by a message of our own crafting or by sharing the opinion or platform of another, we should be conscious of our intent, because once understood – the individual and collective wattage & range we possess  – we become responsible for societal perception of those that we reach, and ultimately, tilting the axis toward conflict or peace.

Peace Sign by Guy White

NED HICKSON, HUMORIST
 NATIONALLY SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
FLORENCE OREGON

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS (press play)

AUG 4: DAY FOUR:
AN EDUCATOR’S ROLE IN PEACE

#OURWEEKOFPEACE 2016 continues….