I was on vacation in Orlando, Florida last week, and decided I need to take a break from sitting in the sun. I went to the hotel’s very nice fitness center and got down to business. Like most gyms, there were televisions on the wall, showing whatever is usually shown during the day. The TV near where I was had, in succession, the Jerry Springer Show and Maury Povich. It was interesting to watch with no volume on; the physical actions were, in some ways, more frightening than the words being spewed back and forth. So much anger and malice and raw emotion from the main characters as well as the audience. It was, for me, a representation of everything that is wrong with America.
Both shows focused on paternity tests; each woman and her family were certain that the man who had dumped her was the father of both of her children. The men had moved on to someone else, abandoning their alleged responsibility for a new woman to impregnate. I only know this because words would occasionally flash on the screen with information about the testing that the children had gone through; for some reason, these women wanted these deadbeat dads in the picture, probably to pay child support. It turned out that both women had been intimate with other men during their relationships with these guys, and the children were not fathered by the accused. The men jumped with joy while the women wept in agony. Meanwhile, the audience cheered and booed and carried on like Romans in the Coliseum urging the lion on. And while I know that these shows have been around for years – they must be great money-makers – they are not something that is part of my life. Not my circus – not my clowns.
In many ways, these shows made me think of American politics. Every day, it seems, there are articles and reports about bad behavior, name-calling, lying, cheating, and other immature activity. I am not naive; I know that this has always been the case. With the increasing intrusion of media into our lives, it seems to be in our faces more and more, and this circus dominates our conversations. I liked it better when our elected officials would go to work and do their thing, interrupting our lives with an occasional scandal or outrage. The constant barrage of infantile behavior brings stress into our lives and the incessant posting (which I am guilty of too) of every dumb or wrong thing they say and do takes its toll on us.
This is why I try to post a dose of good news every day. There are so many people doing good, and we rarely hear about it. One of the news channels in Philadelphia has a “good news” report every day; they understand the need to see kindness and goodness in an otherwise seemingly dismal world. I have to believe that this never-ending circus of lies and deceit is taking a toll on us, and part of the problem may be that people aren’t as connected to places like faith communities as they were in the past. Places where people are mostly good. Places where community service is at the core of their existence. One of the things I love about the church is that I get to spend my time with good people who take the time to do good things for others. They smile when you say hello. They ask how your loved one is doing after their surgery. There’s less drama and more sincerity; at least, there should be.
If you are tired of the bad news circus, why not find someplace where there’s mostly good news? It might relieve your stress and lift your spirit. It won’t be perfect, but it will be way better than Maury or Jerry.
Prayer – Lead us away, O God, from the vitriol and malice that passes for entertainment, and connect us with others who yearn for peace and goodwill. Amen.