Adbusters has what I thought was the best article I’ve read this year. It’s in a very few words speaks the conflict of being human. We live in a guarded world and build deeply developed defense mechanisms to keep people out and at the same time lock us in. But then we scream and shout at the top of our lungs in different ways for the world to rescue us from this prison we’ve created. Yet when someone does try and break into our world, we lash back and hold onto our defense mechanisms once again.
Touch Me! Don’t Touch Me!
The article provides two opposing ideas in tension. It chronicles how depression is a growing and rapid trend that is both real and manufactured. We long for human touch.
“As the world is gripped by rampant health scares and communication is increasingly mediated through screens, we’re becoming unwilling, and perhaps unable, to simply reach out and touch one another. And if we lose that fundamental element of our emotional language, there’s no pill in the world that will soothe the existential ache.”
It also provides the opposite tension we have with touch.
“A friend leans in to kiss your cheek. A family member approaches you for a warm embrace. A colleague puts forth his hand for a firm and dedicated handshake. In each instance you momentarily freeze up and assess the situation. Have they been vaccinated? Where are they coming from? Were they recently in China? Are their hygienic habits up to snuff? And in the end you stiffen up, offering a courteous head nod instead of physical contact.”
How has this touched your world?
