By Danny Bloom
CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — In a recent interview, the Jewish writer George Steiner spoke about “the constant din” that surrounds us 24/7 now in this postmodernhigh-tech world we have created. He was speaking of the need to find silence from time to time, to get away from the constant din of life. And essayist Pico Iyer wrote a splendid op-ed commentary in the New York Times the other day titled “The Joy of Quiet.”
After reading the Steiner interview last week, I took the way he spoke of “the constant din” to have an extra meaning, and I put some quotation marks around the phrase and shortened it to “the CD.” And by CD I mean “constant din” and by “the CD” I mean “the constant din.”
I sent the new coinage over to the folks at Urban Dictionary, and 23 hours later, in the midst of the constant din, the editors there accepted it and “the CD” is now part of the online dictionary. In addition, I sent the link over to Facebook, I blogged it and then I made a YouTube piece about it as well.
Steiner was asked in a recent interview conducted by a young woman: “You have argued that new technologies are a threat to the “silence” and “intimacy” necessary for an encounter with great works.”
Steiner, now 82, replied: ”People are living in a constant din. There is no more night in cities. Young people are afraid of silence. What
will become of serious and difficult reading? Is it possible to read Plato while wearing a Walkman? I find this very worrying.”
Me, I’m looking for a way to put ”the CD” in its place and keep it on a tight leash. We do not need “a constant din.” We need a constant
peace. Professor Steiner said it well. We must try to keep ”the CD” at bay, no?
Or are there other alternatives?
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Bloom is Taiwan bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World and a dedicated cyber-surfer. He may be contacted at dan.bloom@sdjewishworld.com