Americans today detest inconvenience. In fact, in recent years we, as a nation, have become addicted to the sort of commercialism that depicts someone with the ability to drive an elephant-sized sport utility vehicle, talk on a microscopic cell phone, drink a double grande machiato with no foam, and order a super-sized drive-thru meal with a diet Coke all while using a Palm Pilot to order the latest pair of cargo pants from the Gap.
Is this simply a revolution in multitasking, or have the intentions of convenience become the vehicle for a less-than-convenient lifestyle?
It seems that with every new convenience innovation, the time allotted for normal everyday tasks diminishes.
With the capability to conference call while flying first class to Beijing to seal the deal, employers today allow less time and/or leniency to their on-the-go employees. Some may see this rise in expectations as a pleasing response to a society known for its laziness and obesity. However, modern conveniences actually hinder detail orientation and intensify the insatiable desire for one's vices.
Where there used to be hour-long lunch breaks to pleasantly convene in the break room for simple conversation, and the occasional surprise of what nutritional treat might be in the brown bag today, there is now a 15 minute allowance to run and grab pre-packaged sandwiches pulled from a four-hour scorch under a hot lamp.
Where has the appreciation for time gone? Why do we feel that we need every new gadget when they only add responsibility and further reduce what little time we already have?
We feel incomplete without the latest innovations that would allow us to e-mail the prime minister of Malaysia, while setting up a grocery list, and watching the kid's soccer game via satellite, even though we only know the prime minister of Malaysia from the "Zoolander" DVD, we haven't stepped inside a grocery store since the Woodstock era, and the closest our children have ever come to a soccer field is the new virtual reality game pack they got for Christmas.
Convenience has even invaded our schools. Instead of the square cardboard carton of whole milk that kids used to choke down until the soggy paper lip was practically dissolving in their mouths, the $1.25 plastic bottles of soda that are guaranteed to energize and stimulate impressionable minds are now available at the push of a button.
Furthermore, cell phones have occupied classrooms to the point where the school bell induces groups of 13-year-olds to pat themselves down, searching for the phone like they are conducting their own cavity search.
A society based on convenience will not realize what they have lost until it's gone.
Bring back books (that weren't downloaded)! Bring back the brown bag! Bring back time!
We might actually find that turning off the cell phone, leaving the Palm Pilot in the car, and cooking a meal at home can give us the greatest convenience of all - a little more time.
Megan Gilshire is a State News intern. She can be reached at gilshire@msu.edu.
