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Supporting Relationships More Important than Americans Realize, Authors Say
By Dusty Hammersley
Telecommunication Junior
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| Glenn Sparks, left, and Dr. Will Miller discussed
their new book, "Refrigerator Rights," at a recent book
signing _____
For more information: _____ Dr. Will Miller |
_____
Other articles on the book _____ |
How many people in your life do you grant the privilege to take whatever they want out of your refrigerator, without having to ask first? Having enough close friends and family who have such "refrigerator rights" is the key indicator in a new book on the importance of relationships by Dr. Will Miller, a noted humorist, and Glenn Sparks, a professor in the Department of Communication.
"Refrigerator
Rights: Creating Connections and Restoring Relationships" explains
how many of the social problems people are facing today are related to
the loss of supportive relationships. Success and independence are central
ideas of American society that drive people to leave behind their friends,
family and anything else that would hold them back. When people leave
these relationships behind, the book asks, do they realize what they have
lost?
"Refrigerator Rights" has caught the attention of several major newspapers, as well as some popular television shows. The authors were scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today Show" in November. Appearances were also planned for the "Morning Show" on CBS, "The Montel Williams Show," and ABC's "20/20."
Sparks attributed this growing attention to the thesis of "Refrigerator Rights" resonating with the people who have read the book.
"I think most of us know that we have a problem in this area and to see the problem explicated in the way that we did it in the book is really hitting," Sparks said.
Sparks wants the readers of "Refrigerator Rights" to come away from the book with the realization that their relationships with other people might be more important than the readers had previously thought.
"We're really trying to sensitize people to the fact that we are on a path in our culture that has made these kinds of relationships much more difficult than they should be, or have to be, in terms of sustaining us," Sparks said.
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| Glenn Sparks autographs a copy of "Refrigerator Rights" as book author Dr. Will Miller looks on. |
Close relationships help construct our world and build who we are, Sparks said. The problems society has with anxiety, depression, divorce and child rearing are related to people losing close relationships.
"When you're in a family, particularly in an extended family and a network of relationships that surround your family, when you up and leave that, all your important social connections have been fractured and disrupted," Sparks said. "People don't tend to understand that when they land, they're not replacing those relationships.
"So they end up all of a sudden feeling more stress, more anxiety. 'Hey, I'm depressed and I don't know why.' And they don't connect it to the fact that they don't have the same people in their life on a daily basis that I'm making contact with."
In order to capture the essence of the familiar family relationship, Miller coined the term "refrigerator rights." Miller had been speaking to corporate America about such rights for several years. Sparks then approached Miller about a collaboration using communication research that supported Miller's concept.
"My job, primarily, was to scour the research literature," Sparks said.
Sparks and Miller already have started on a follow-up book, tentatively titled "Ten Myths of American Culture: A Refrigerator Rights Perspective." Sparks said the next book will be more of an expansive analysis on our culture from the perspective he and Miller developed in the original book.
"What we're trying to do is identify common myths that we believe are deeply ingrained in our culture and to shatter those myths by drawing attention to the problem of our personal relationships and our connections with others," Sparks said.