c8400.comgod loves youtext/statementPeople need to believe. Believe in something that is so embracive that it covers all our worries, and at the same time so close, that we can feel its presence.The knowledge of something that's above us, of something that we can always get in touch with is something soothing and assuring. There are thousand different views, thousand different gods. There's something that's common to all of them. The essence is important, not the form. The statement "god loves you" is not announced as a given truth in the context of this action. In the same way as "Always Coca Cola" or "Let's make things better", it is a kind of advertising slogan, which is offering an instant and complex solution to the situation of each individual. The recipient of the message decides whether he'll accept or reject it. I'm thinking about all the people who decided to end up their lives by jumping from Nuselsky bridge. For this people a slogan like this could save their life. They decided to die because they lost hope. This slogan can give hope. If someone is drowning, his hands are trying to grasp anything that's near. First the physical life must be saved, all other questions are of secondary importance. If someone's dying of thirst, he's grateful for any drink, no matter who the manufacturer is. If someone is going to die because lack of hope (faith), the most important thing is the existence of an acceptable solution. You believe or die. The slogan which I used draws from Christianity as a basic value of Euro-american civilisation which was and still is strongly influencing our environment. The answer to the question of faith is an personal matter, but the question "What do I believe in?" is entirely universal. The slogan used is conceived as a specific statement, because this form is stronger than an appeal or a question. If the reaction is positive ("yes"), it offers a specific solution (the beginning of a process). If the reaction is negative ("no"), than it urges to the formation of another point of view which contradicts this statement (i.e. it encourages to articulate another solution of the question of faith). If the reaction is "why?" than it encourages the asking person to look at the background of this statement and its consequences. Stickers, a product of urban street-culture and an extension of graffiti which is reflecting the progression of technology, are nowadays being employed by commercial companies for the promotion of their products. They are one of the ways of product promotion. Here the sticker is used to promote something that's non-commercial, something that's more binding than a product and more grave than graffiti. This poses the question to which extent faith is a product (in the hands) of the corresponding religious organisation and whether this organisations have the right to it. Another question is to which extent in everyday life spiritual values are formed by messages which (originally) didn't have any moral dimension. "God loves you" is a personal appeal for musing about one's own (spiritual) values and the way they are formed. It is questioning the relationship between offers (supply) and people's needs. Are we able to recognise the relevance of the things which are being offered to us considering our own material and spiritual needs? Do we know our needs or do we live in a world of imaginary needs which were additionally tailored to fit the promoted solutions? |