IN FAITH
REFLECTIONS ON REALITY SHOWS
Over the past several years, it has seemed to me that the folks who do the writing for television and movie land, have lost their creativity. I don’t want to sound like Andy Rooney, (though personally I think an awful lot of the old curmudgeon), but, I wonder where the creativity has gone. Having grown up in what my children call “the icy stone age” I realize I had to contend with things like black and white TV, and transistor radios and when AM radio played music, as opposed to the “talk” format shows AM radio now features. But, I guess I never felt short changed. I grew up when Howdy Doody, the real Mickey Mouse Club, and Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote (along with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck) were still regulars on television. I grew up when there was a type of movie and TV show called “The Western”. And the good guys wore white hats, and not long black dusters, and the ominous looking black sunglasses like Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity wear (you have to have watched the Matrix to understand this). I still remember the words and music to “Happy trails to you,” the ending of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans TV show (and Roy did wear a white hat).
But, before I go too far…(I may have already)…one of the things I have noticed in the so called “Reality Shows” is that I never remember being courted by 25 women who all looked like supermodels. And, in truth, though I did lift weights for a time, I never looked like I lived at Gold’s Gym. So, my “reality” is out of step with today’s “reality”. We always kidded one another about eating worms, but…
Shift gears with me for a moment, please. I think that a lot of today’s television is really trying to figure out what life is really all about. (Look out, he’s doing his Pastor thing, now). Even in some of the most outrageous Reality Shows, what the participants are really looking for is love and genuine relationships, not just momentary fun. Even in some Reality Shows, the man whom all the ladies are after (they’re supposed to get a whopping sum of money for winning his heart), really discover that he’s penniless. Well, he’s probably not penniless, but he isn’t the millionaire they thought he was. So, Reality Shows spoof reality! But, to come back to relationships, in the deepest parts of our hearts, we all need love, and to feel that there is someone for us to love as well.
My parents grew up in the Great Depression. They didn’t have a lot of material things. There were times when they were out of work, and had hot dogs, beans, bread to live on. (No kidding). There was a time when my father, along with a lot of other young men, shoveled snow off a major bridge in Kankakee, Illinois, using snow shovels, not front end loaders, in order to earn the money that he and his family would need to get through the next several days. My mother, who grew up on a farm, didn’t have a lot of material things, either. But, her family had food. And my mother learned how to ride. Her horse was named Star. And, she learned how to fish, and shoot, and a lot of other practical kinds of things. That was the Reality my parents knew.
The Reality I know (named Jesus) often tried to help people figure out what life was really all about. Mark’s gospel tells us this story: “One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” {29} Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; {30} you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ {31} The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” {32} Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; {33} and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” {34} When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.” (Mark 12:28-34 NRSV)
To be honest, Jesus’ teaching is the best “take” on Reality I know. If you’d like to learn more about what true Reality is, read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). They’re found in the Bible at the beginning of the New Testament. And now, “Happy Trails To You.”
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