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The US society in the radio vol.2


There were programs which I used to listen on the AFR. It's "Telephone counseling with Dr. So-and-so"
"Dr. So-and-so?" Sorry I can't remember the name.
Any way it's very stern female counselor. A listener who had a marital problem or a problem between parent and kid were on the phone one after another. And they turned on the super strict suggestion switch of the Dr.


Generally the point at the issue was very clear. The solution was also obvious for the third parson. The Dr. immediately indicated the point.
The listeners accept all the advises which was given by the Dr. saying "Yeah, Yeah, Okay, Yeah" Usually there were no objections.
Maybe the listeners wanted to be pushed the back by the stern Dr.
So this radio program was fixed in the pattern. But I felt merciful heart of this stern Dr. So-and-so once. At the same time, I knew a good aspect of US society.


On the day, the listener on the telephone was a girl with very cute voice. Usually all I heard on the program was exhausted grownups. So I attracted by her. The subject of the counseling was something like this. She was fourteen. Her parents divorced long time ago. Since then she had been raised by her mother. However unfortunately, her mother was dead recently. There was no relatives who support her. So her phone call was asking about how to deal with the tough situation.
Listening the radio I had pity on her. Meanwhile I was really interested in how the stern Dr. So-and-so would give her some words.


However the Dr. got start tell the fourteen year old girl how to survive in this world by herself and how to make a living. She advised it in quite practical way. The girl was independent enough. But she's only fourteen. She had a dream as a fourteen girl like. It's like becoming an actress, I remember. The Dr. commented on it.
"That's wonderful dream. But from today, you have to live alone. To do that you gotta think about making a living as the first priority thing.
Whichever a waitress of restaurant or a cashier of supermarket, find a job which you can do now. Making a base of life take you to the next step, challenging to be an actress. Make your life on the base step by step"
Me in front of the radio nodded "Exactly"
"School, College?" The girl asked. The Dr. answered "Possibly you have to give it up. But you can come back to school any time when you'll grown up and afford of it"



These two most impressive AFR editions to me has some point in common. It tells the fact that the US society faced to the tough reality and accept it, and maybe discuss how to deal with it. The social pathological matter of the US is tend to close up in the media. However we notice this kind of good aspect of the society.



Recently I passed by Yokota US Air Base, Tokyo the first time in a while. The area didn't look like so busy as it used to be. The space over the fence was quiet too. The branches of cedar tree were swaying in the wind. On the other hand, sound of the real America came from my car radio as electric signals. Strange feels.
However the relationship between Japanese people and the US society has been something like this for long long time. America... feels like close to us but very far away.


Jul. 2013



Today's piece
" A cedar tree on the other side" YokotaAB Tokyo, Japan 2013




fumikatz osada photographie