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The Pastoral Lens
Reality Versus Reality
Tuesday, April 1, 2003
One can hardly turn on the television or radio these past few days without tuning in to the continuous, live coverage of the war in Iraq. To be sure, this is valid news, this is reality. We can't hide from the realities of the issues of our world and the fallout that results when corrupt governments are confronted. I suppose each of us could define reality as the world in which we live in. That is our reality. However, this is only a small slice of reality. Our television screens herald a Paul Harvey crescendo: "the rest of the story." We can track the war continuously over the internet, as well, or pore over a newspaper at the coffee shop. There is just no end to keeping in step with reality these days.On an entirely different stratum of reality there has emerged the holy grail of twenty-first century western television entertainment: the "reality" show. The irony of this nomenclature is that these shows seem to be anything but reality. Soldiers on the battlefront are replaced by "Survivors" on the beach front (or outback, or safari, etc. – you insert the current venue). The enemy in the latter is your fellow, back-stabbing American who relishes every opportunity to tell all to a tv audience without the knowledge of those who are the targets of gossip and criticism.
Oh, and how about "Fear Factor", where eating copious amounts of the insect population (or ostrich egg yolk, or bat guano, or – you insert the current far-fetched menu item) and out-taunting the other cocky competitors nets you the big cash windfall. Where do the Hollywood producers come up with this stuff, anyway?
Then there's "The Bachelor" who just knows he'll find the right match after a 6-week binge of lust and hedonism with 25 desperate girls. Gimme a break! Yeah, my father-in-law was a bachelor, too, before his romantic, yet sex-free courtship led to a wonderful, 46 years of marriage. I know that may sound old-fashioned, but hey, it works. There are no shortcuts to a lasting relationship. If you don't believe me, just ask Darva Conger, who was the grand winner of "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?" but who ended up with a dud. Their most-watched nuptials led to a very quick divorce.
However, I think the Porcelain Throne Award needs to go to the producers of the ultra-smutty "Temptation Island". You know, that was the "reality" show that put engaged/serious couples up against tempters of the opposite sex, who prostituted themselves overtly in an attempt to break up the relationship. The whole point of this stupidity was to see if the relationship was worth hanging on to. Oh boy, get me the barf bag! With the divorce rate right around the 50% mark, we don't need any help from the moral cesspool of Hollywood, thank-you very much!
I love reality. That's why I don't read fiction. Period. If it ain't true, I'm not interested. I like the Bible because it's about real people living real lives. It's also about a real God who has changed my life. So, the next time you're tuned in to a news broadcast about the war in Iraq, lift up a prayer for those involved; and if you're watching a reality show, you can pray for those people, too. We all need a reality check now and then. That's something prayer to a real God provides.
