American Noise Pollution

Yesterday, a front page article in the International Herald Tribune on Fallujah described the relative quiet descending onto the city after the firefights earlier In the day. Besides the occasional shots in the distance, the only thing that could be heard were the sounds emitted by the US speakers engaged in psychological warfare. The US military played sounds of a baby crying and hysterical laughter. I can only guess at the process by which military psychological determined that these two sounds, transcending language and cultural barriers, would be most frightening and disheartening. I suppose that a guerilla warrior would be induced to lose heart if he thought he was facing such a heartless, sadistic, omnipresent enemy. I suspect that their resolve is even more shaken by the sheer sophistication of the tactic.

Tuesday, in Prague, I stopped in at the Franz Kafka Café- a dark, dreary, authentically preserved café- and was confronted by another form of American noise pollution: Usher’s "Yeah!" rang out through the café. It seemed obscene that a cobble-stone city so steeped in the past and connected to historical hardships both architecturally and atmospherically, should be playing American hip-hop in Josefov, Prague’s Jewish Quarter. But then again, as Prague continues to thaw from decades under Nazis and Communist control, it should not be expect to be in mourning for its history forever. The imperialism of America’s military and corporations are one thing to consider, but the global spread of American music is not something to be ashamed of- as long as, of course, a country is listening voluntarily. Besides, Prague is literally filled with puppet shops and vendors stand at the door making the puppets dance to attract tourists. And there is nothing better than seeing Pinocchio dance to "Jesus Walks."