insurgent49
  updated weekly
 home - contribute - donate -  message board - events - links - contact us - archive
December 2, 2005
Red Alert
by Soren Wuerth

School Magazines: Let Us Prey

     During a potluck in our school library, I noticed something about the magazine display that made me sigh deeply.

     The shelves hold a collection of magazines appealing, ostensibly, to “those crazy kids.” One section, for example, holds all typical NRA doctrinal smut, like Guns & Ammo, Alaska Sportsman, and Hunting and Outdoor Life.

     Because, presumably, many Alaska Native children get excited by photos of white rednecks on their machines of rage, the library offers—under the disingenuous heading of “sports”— a wall of off-road periodicals: ATV Action, Motosports, Snowgoer, ATV Magazine, American Snowmobiler and so on.

     And there is, of course, the obligatory panel of teenage fluff—People Magazine-style titles that market cosmetics, bulimia, and fashion advice to a target audience of young women with purchasing power.

     High school shootings, teenage suicide and off-road vehicular accidents notwithstanding, all this promotional material is yet forgivable for its prevalence.

     However, four magazines occupying a center shelf, exactly at the eye level of a majority of our students, gave me pause.

     The issues had pictures of teenagers with their hats turned back, splashy headlines and alluring titles, which, for the most part, camouflaged them as standard fare teen ‘zines.

     But a few words caught my eye:  “Life. God. Truth for Guys.”

     These magazines, from the publicity department of Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, are far more dangerous than the others. These publications proselytize a fundamentalist, reactionary viewpoint with the overt and subliminal functions of converting new recruits, providing students with biased explanations of ideas kids should be openly questioning, and ensnaring their vision of academia within the realm of Christian dogma and zealotry.

     Breakaway advertises articles about “grappling with sins” and dating, and features a Christian rock band called Olivia.

     Campus Life tells readers that God has your college picked out for you already. All you have to do is leaf through its pages and let the spirit move you.

     Despite its suggestive title, Clubhouse is targeted for the younger set, and presents Martha Stewart-type projects, like a do-it-yourself picture frame with the phrase “The Lord is my Shepard” sealed in. A comic inside, drawn by a nine-year-old, shows the Earth in flames. There are religious poems and, naturally, the “Bible Challenge” crossword.

     I picked up a copy of “Brio.” Inside, an article informs young readers about “the difference between Christianity and all those other religions.” Part of a series, this one focuses on Hinduism.

     It begins by presenting the ghastly scenario of waking up one morning as an Untouchable. “’Who are they?’, you’re probably wondering. They’re part of the Hindu caste system.”

     The magazine compares Hinduism to Christianity and gives the unsurprising theological victory to the Christians, who have eternal life “not a series of mythological, absolutely unproven reincarnations.”

     For those young Christians with friends who had the misfortune of waking up one morning and finding themselves Hindi, the article provides this advice: “Invite her to church. And when she turns you down? Invite her again. And again. And again. And keep praying for her.”

     I took a step back from the periodical section to take in the full range of magazines. Violence, more violence, consumerism and Focus on the Family propaganda.

     “What hope?”, I asked myself as a sleepy, disheveled teenager sauntered in front of the rack and picked up a copy of Gamepro.

     “Here,” I said, lifting a National Geographic hidden by the floor then shoving it toward him, “Take this and read it”.

     “Then read it again. And again. And again.”







Soren Wuerth is perhaps Alaska's best known community activist. He resides in an undisclosed location in rural Alaska and can be reached at soren@insurgent49.com.
- Columnists -

Editor's Desk
by Aaron Selbig

Red Alert
by Soren Wuerth

Alaskan In Exile
by Neil Zawicki

The
Bramble Bush
by Kevin Morford





- also by this writer -

Frank Wants Access
Copyright 2005 Insurgent Media. All Rights Reserved.
in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership.