Out of Touch

While waiting to pick up 90 days worth of medications, I found myself making faces at the "music" being played in the pharmacy.  The pharmacist turned around and caught me in mid-grimace, while rolling my eyes.  He paused for a moment, and I apologized, saying the face was made at the singer, not at him.  He asked me if I didn't appreciate - and he named someone - it was a name I vaguely connect with today's music, but have no further knowledge of.  I had to admit that I didn't appreciate what was being broadcast throughout the shop.  John, the pharmacist, laughed, and let it slide.  I paid for my prescriptions and came home.
   While I was checking the "Headline News," a few minutes later, I realized that, other than politicians, I recognized only about 5 percent of the names in the news.  I recognized the name of a deceased singer-songwriter, the name of an actor, and the name of a now-infamous sports player.  Other than those three, I was totally clueless.  I think that the explosion of social media, as well as the easy access to the internet, has dulled my senses.  I have to admit that my enjoyment of music is fairly eclectic - I enjoy a wide range of music, from classical to jazz to "old" rock and roll to country to bluegrass to folk to zydeco.  But I don't consider  a lot of what is played on the air-waves today as true music... One can't hear and understand the specific words, or, if one can, the words are ones that I was raised to not say in public.  I freely realize and admit that I'm getting older, and more set in my ways, but really... I fear for our society when a person's end-all and be-all and only topic of conversation is Dancing With the Stars, Survivor, or The Bachelor.
  I freely admit that I watch action and drama series with relish.  The so-called comedy shows of today are so contrived and so dreadfully not funny, that I don't watch any of them.  My list of watchable TV shows include The Good Wife, Battle Creek, Gotham, NCIS, Person of Interest, The Blacklist, Vikings, Hawaii Five-O, and Blue Bloods.  Action, adventure, and drama.  A lot of shows available on television are boring, to me, or are much too violent for my taste, or are so clearly contrived and arranged (like the reality shows) that they are just laughable.   I guess I'm out of touch.
  I'd much rather read than sit in front of a television, watching mindless idiocy.  I'd rather do research about items that pique my interest than go sit in a cinema and watch a film.  And I also freely admit that I live now, and have access to the internet to do my research; but I am not completely attached to my electronics.  In fact, I use my cell phone and telephone as little as possible - and my cell phone is sometimes turned off for weeks at a time (which is heavenly).  I keep seeing the people of today constantly engaged with an electronic device - not with other people, not with animals, not with nature.  I never want to become a person like that.  I'd much rather be considered out of touch and an old fuddy-duddy....
  Here are some of the headlines that I read, and then say to myself, "Who the heck even cares?"
"Start Killing Russians": Outrageous Outburst by Fox News Military Analyst
Where Do the Patriots Look For Hope After Revis?
Study Confirms Sugar Industry Helps to Reduce Cavities
Jeff Bezos Relies on Lowly Grunts Like Me
Pregnant Model Sarah Stage's Tiny Belly Causes Social Media Uproar
Who Will The Bachelor Choose?

What about the state of the US economy?  What about global warning?  What is the US Congress doing? What is happening on the world stage and how will it affect us?  Sometimes I'm just embarrassed by what passes as the human "social conscious".....