Okay, be prepared. I'm stepping up onto my soapbox today. The thoughts swirling around inside my brain are focused on the media, as well as the entertainment industry. Let's start with the media. Can I just say that I am NOT IMPRESSED with how events are reported these days. It seems as if every story, every lead, focuses on the negative things that are happening in our world. This may seem like an argument that you've heard before, but I feel like the media preys on our fears. Every story, every lead is meant to "fill us in" on the latest, breaking news. But what it really does, at least for me, is it makes me a little more afraid, a little more depressed, and a little more paranoid about life. Really, think of the last time you ever saw a broadcast that started, I mean really started, with news of all the good things in life; how many people did a good deed today, or worked really hard at their jobs, or volunteered their time at the homeless shelter. No, instead nearly every story is about war, or terrorists, or gas prices going up. (Why is it that when gas prices go down, you rarely hear about that?) I know that it's important to keep up on current events, to note what's really newsworthy, but since when is Lindsey Lohan's life a certain event that I REALLY need to know about.
And don't even get me started on television. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch the next "reality" show as much as any crazed, hungry-for more-American is. After all, there are some decent, even good ones, out there. But, sometimes, I feel that when I watch one of these shows, I'm participating in something that is completely barbarian. It's like I'm in a stadium, filled with the masses, waiting for the next victim to become prey to that crouching lion. Are we really so different from the crowds who used to cheer while a person was torn to pieces? I always used to think that the gladiator games were horrific, that the people who watched them were absolutely heartless. But, are we any better? When we put these people under a microscope, it seems like we're carrying out our own form of gladiator spectating. Sitting with the cheering masses, waiting for the next victim to "bite the dust," so to speak, leaves us craving, in fact, begging for more.
But, if we're so interested in reality, why aren't we getting real about our own lives? Why don't we turn off the television and start living, really living; going on a bike ride, playing a family board game, going to coffee with a friend, having meaningful conversations with those we love best. (I told you I was on a soapbox today.) I think that, far too often, we let the media and the entertainment industry dictate our lives - what we're going to think, feel, focus on, what we're going to believe about ourselves and life. I'm not saying we should never watch another broadcast or turn on the TV. What I am saying is this; If you find yourself thinking more, talking more, about what you saw on the news last night, or on the latest episode of reality TV, maybe it's time to turn the television off, and live your own reality. (Stepping off my soapbox now.)
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