Once upon a time, a screen was a partition that blocked a corner of the room so someone could change their clothes with some measure of privacy. That’s right — the purpose of a screen was to block the view.
As time has proceeded, screen has become the name of the glowing portion of a device that carries images, sounds and words from throughout the world, first into our living rooms on television sets and eventually into our pockets.
I suggest that these electronic screens serve to block the view as efficiently as the old room partitions.
I first noticed this a few years ago, when important and even historic events were accompanied by dozens of people lifting their screens to capture the image instead of experiencing the moment in real life. The moments in all their brilliance — sights, smells and sounds all about us — were reduced to what could be absorbed by a tiny camera with a tiny microphone.
Oh, that means you could relive the moment over and over again, at least that fraction of the moment that the tiny device recorded, but the moment itself was lost in the effort to manipulate the device. The electronic toy screened us from the full reality of the moment.
So much of what we know anymore is filtered by our view from behind the screen.
It behooves us to come out and look reality in the eye from time to time — especially in these times when so many people hide behind a political screen, so much that is real is being missed.
Set down your screen, smile on your brother and get to know him as he really is, not as he appears through the screen.
A window screen is designed to let fresh air into the room. That feels like a healthier model.
