The Paradox of Our Time

This poem by George Carlin is where I originally came up with what I want to do for my visual argument. It perfectly depicts the type of society were living in and what we are forgetting really matters.  



The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

Remembering What Matters

In such a fast-paste world, our perception of what really matters in life has been severely skewed. Whether it be a consumption of materialistic items, jobs, or always needing more; people are forgetting that the most important thing in this life is often right in front of us; our relationships. For my pictures i've started to edit, I captured images of pure real relationships between people. Whether it be friendship, love, or family, I am trying to incorporate all into my photos. In the background I am putting images of things that we often think are the most important. As you can see, in the picture above I have a picture of my sister and her husband at her wedding. The background is a busy city background, depicting the fast-paste life that people in my sisters age usually are consumed by. In the picture below I have a picture of two of my friends hugging after not seeing each other for awhile after going off to college. I have a black background of a library in the back. Depicting that the color images that are more focused on what matters in life.