Litter in Our Ears
I believe there’s been an expansion in the use of “ambient noise” and I don’t mean the innocuous elevator music which fills awkward social spaces with temporary audio Xanax.
The blaring, wall mounted sonic blasters, spewing louder and louder “music” pop up seemingly everywhere these days. The day of the calming, warm coffee place has essentially disappeared. Airport terminals bathed with the CNN-Airport network blather from inescapable monitors offer no audio shadows to hide within. Even walking outdoors we cannot escape the flaring leafblowers, outdoor ambient music speakers, edgy cell phone ringers etc.
Answer me this: Why do we fine people for throwing a piece of paper on the ground but we allow businesses and individuals to litter noise everywhere? I can get fined $100-$1,000 for crumpling a piece of copy paper and throwing it out my car window, because it’s an eyesore. But it’s ok to blare noise everywhere from outdoor speakers even though its an earsore?!
In the not too distant future we’ll be paying for 1 hour sessions in a quiet space. Oh, wait. We already do. Some people move to the country, and some stick earbuds in their heads.
Thoughts and comments?
Add comment June 13th, 2007
