April 2, 2009
Ok, writing the blog is becoming too easy. We, as a people, are having an anthropological crisis. We are becoming flesh peddlers because we—at our core—are starting to be unable to see that mankind is made in the image of God. When we are blind to this fact, we begin to consider and then to practice the buying and selling of humanity. Here is another exhibit of this from TIME magazine:
An
Idaho
teacher is selling ad space on his test
. Why? Because he does not have enough money for supplies. Now, I am not against advertisements. We run them in some of our things at school. We ask good businesses to sponsor our events. We do not, however, give unfettered advertising access to our students. Why not? Because ads work and because students are not yet fully trained to be on guard against all of the power of advertising. This vulnerability is, in fact, why marketer desire access to children. They are easy to manipulate. They will buy (or get their parents to buy) junk if it is shiny and full of glitter and cool. Thus, like some parody of the worst of Dilbert, companies can produce junk toys, advertise them to children, jack up the prices and sell a ton of them. Now, children will have to face this assault on their math tests.Here are a few thoughts to put this in its most horrible (and probably inevitable) outcome . . . .
Who can buy these ads? Right now it looks like the local pizza joint is the main purchaser. The pizza place seems like an innocuous advertiser. If the school has a non-discrimination policy (which it does), who could advertise? Who would want to sell goods and services to teens? Here are a few that kids in our country could see at the top of their test:
1. This test is brought to you by your (you fill in the blank with a major credit card company) offering no interest for a year if you sign up for a credit card now.
2. This test is brought to you by Planned Parenthood. Save this test and bring to our clinic and receive 10% on all purchases and services.
3. This test is brought to you by the local WICCA coven. Our services are at midnight in the graveyard. We want to see you there!
Could it happen? Who knows. Are we as a culture descending deeper and deeper into Dante’s Inferno? You bet!
No possible backlash. What if the kid fails the test? Will he then have a negative feeling about the ad? Will advertisers pay more to be placed on easier tests? Jesus said concerning taxes and money, “Render unto Caeser that which is Caesar’s” because the Emperor’s image was impressed on the coin. Whose image do your children bear? To whom will we as a culture render them?
