A series of essays....

THERE IS PLEASURE THAT COMES FROM TAKING
SOMETHING APART TO SEE EXACTLY HOW IT TICKS!

                      Courtesy of: TODDMCLELLAN.COM



....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

DECONSTRUCTION

is a term used frequently and in many different facets of life in order to break something down or dismantle it into all of its original components in such a way as to be able to examine it thoroughly or expose its underlying make up, bit by bit. Our world continues to move swiftly and often we are connected to, or more familiar with, the end product rather than the means by which it was produced in the first place. With a consumer’s unquestioned acceptance of what is, we throw away the possibility of what was and how we might improve upon or repair it. The more curious among us embrace the deconstruction process as a challenge worth pursuing with positive reasons and ultimate benefits guiding the way.

However, deconstruction in itself is not a new concept and can be applied to many ideas such as human nature, historical fact finding, and even the foods we consume on a daily basis. The research applied to this act of dismantling can charge the senses and rejuvenate the weary soul just as much as creating something from an original conception and building upon it until it is perceived to be a complete and functioning entity. The process of deconstruction is challenging in the respect that the act of ‘trial and error’ has been diminished; the essential properties of a given subject must be accurately examined and scientifically researched until each component is identified, quantified, and labeled. 

With the explosion of cheap plastic products after World War II, life was more convenient and affordable, and who would have thought to exist without their Tupperware, the puffed-up  polymer DuPont later trademarked as Styrofoam, Formica counter, Saran Wrap, vinyl siding, squeeze bottles, Barbie dolls, Wiffle balls, the colorful world of artificial flowers, and countless more items. Plastics promised a material paradise available to all income brackets. Our naivete, marked by consumer bliss following ‘war deprivation’ and sacrifice, exposed a lack of wisdom, good judgment, and concealed  the long-term consequences of these products. It would be a fool’s goal to deconstruct the polymers and acetates associated with the materials we used to rearrange nature in such imaginative and mass produced ways. What we must do is deconstruct the harm that was done to our environment after so many years of usage and eliminate the disposable world that is choking the breath from every living organism.

Who didn’t want to know the ingredients of McDonald’s ‘special sauce’ since fast food entered the marketplace around the same time as worldwide plastic consumption? The advertising market told us that we did. Life moved fast and furious following WWII. Today, we enjoy the art of deconstructing a fabulous recipe consumed during a fine dining experience and attempt to reproduce it within the luxury of our own home in homage to the chef. Culinary students are trained to taste certain food combinations and then deconstruct them by naming each ingredient within its composition. Deconstructing our food allows us the opportunity to rearrange ingredients to serve our lifestyle with a positive approach in order to make healthier choices along the way.

 The counselor, especially a licensed professional, who treats people with emotional and behavioral problems, may advise and encourage their patients to deconstruct their life in order to allow them to recall and better understand all of the major reasons that led them to the problematic world they exist in currently with the hope of making subtle changes toward improvement. The key to unlocking the past is rediscovering it...little by little.

Many of us attempt to comprehend the general dynamics of this current political administration that influences life and death situations, economic patterns, and interactions with other countries including their people, customs, and laws. Step by step we must see the presidency through the eyes of the man himself, which may be difficult for many of us to do. If we peel back the layers, deconstruct his life back to the circumstances that preceded his official capacity as president, we find a person easily manipulated by virtue of wanting to fit in, desiring to be a part of the whole and never quite achieving this goal for himself. We see a pathetic man from the past who has never had a single clue as to how to govern his own life let alone the people of the United States; always driven by his agenda of hate for Barack Obama, our first black president.  

Agreeing that deconstruction is a way of understanding how something was created in the first place, it is interesting to note that, thanks to the Internet, our topics may be easier to deconstruct than they used to be. Our entire world unfolds before us as we type away on a keyboard waiting for the options to appear on a screen to be analyzed and interpreted. Having such vast knowledge at our fingertips allows us to peel back the layers of time, fill in the missing spaces in history, and better understand or deny the ideas behind the stories we have come to believe as truths. 

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved