It has been argued in detail, by Guy Debord that the 20th century West is a Society of the Spectacle.  There is little doubt that the information received by the eye, vision, has always been a pivot point for finding food and shelter necessary to life, and for self preservation.  The rabbits that come at the end of the day into the backyard, keep an eye out for predators while feasting on grass .  Occasionally a coyote has been seen passing through.  No question that the coyote keeps a sharp eye out for a rabbit.  Vision is a very very important primary sense.

I recall the maxims, the aphorisms which we use everyday; for example, “keep your eye on the ball.”  That would apply to any sporting activity involving a ball, and by extension to an entire range of life activities.

Yet, beyond the usual paying of attention to what is in front of one’s eyes, so much of our day to day experience is marked by screen based spectacle.  The iphone is an accessory, a close at hand tool for millions of people.  Screen based information excels at delivery of images.  Television excels at delivery of spectacular events world wide using satellite, the LCD screens are relatively inexpensive and common.

I wonder if the parade is not the quintessential spectacle, one enjoyed by ancestors receding for generations into antiquity?  The Panathenaea (all-Athenian festival) was Athens’ most important festival.  Taking place at the end of July, the festival is speculated to have lasted eight days. Processions were part of the festival.

Seated at the curb viewing the Geneva Swedish Days parade, am I not in every respect a standard-issue homo sapiens, not unlike the Athenians who came before me in 500 BC?

The parade in ostensibly secular 21st century America has elements of the sacred, religion if you will.  I mentioned the display of patriotism to open the parade featuring the uniformed veterans carrying the flag, rifles shouldered in marching position, to evoke memory of those who sacrificed themselves in past wars.  The element of the sacred, colors our concept of the nation, and causes us to feel awe for those who voluntarily gave their lives to protect the life of a community.

And there are the parade floats sponsored by various churches in the area.  I feel a mixture of curiosity and repulsion whenever opportunity presents these displays in all of their variety.  I am certain that spectacle is not the appropriate medium for religion, for what is most personal, most intimate, one’s sense of the meaning-of-life, ones notion of the trajectory of one’s own life, etc.  Could spectacle be the worst possible approach….?

With respect to organized religion, I am a non-joiner, not a subscriber, — for many personal reasons.

I’d rather be “homeless,” the loner who prefers a campsite under a viaduct, to the presumption that in the end “everything will be ok”,

— I remain churchless.