prophetic

  It's been some time now, amazingly 25 years according to google, since the show survivor first aired. I wouldn't have guessed it was any where near that amount of time. I do recall writing about it or at the very least leaving my observations and opinions regarding the premise of that show. The game is basically, lie, cheat, steal, and attempt to stab the other contestants in the back to become the winner. Yes, now that's entertaining isn't it! A plethora of other shows have followed, all ones I have to admit I have never watched, shows like Big Brother. More lying, cheating and deception to win. Yes, nothing like dishonesty and deceit to keep you amused.

  I found that disgusting back then, and feel the same way about it today. I'm just not amused with any of that. I suppose the show is aimed at adults, but certainly has been an influence on younger people. From the way things are going I'm thinking that influence is on full display today. We have reached a point where you have to check, double check, and investigate every statement made. Simply put, don't trust anyone or anything to tell you the straight up truth regarding anything. Be paranoid my friends, be wary and leery. It's like a game of survivor, you might get stabbed in the back at any moment! You are voted out! 

  I can't help but think all of that has influenced some fundamental changes in the psyche America. In years past the good guys always won and it was the bad guys that lost. Can we say that today? I don't think so when they are rewarding those "contestants" with millions of dollars for behaving in the worst possible fashion. Remember when parents were actually allowed, indeed expected and encouraged, to be parents? Today you are supposed to be "friends" and empower their adolescent fantasies. Worse still is in telling them they do not have to honor any agreements they made, if later, they feel that agreement just wasn't fair. Forgiveness is a right! Charity is a right! Being paid whatever wage you demand is a right! 

  Yes, I'm a boomer. That's what I have been told as though that defines me. Well, I guess it does in a way. I still believe in the fundamental lessons I learned. And yes a good number of those lessons were learned from watching the "boob" tube. That's what my parents called it, and I'm thinking they were most likely correct, only thing being about fifty years ahead of their time. It was more prophetic than anything else. They never saw Facebook and I can't imagine what they would have said about that. But as I watched that boob tube the shows I watched always had some underlining moral lesson to it.

  I wasn't really aware of that at the time but learned the lesson nonetheless. It didn't pay to be a criminal or a bad person, they always got what was coming to them in the end. Shows like leave it beaver and my three sons showed us what was good and bad. Yes it was funny when the Beaver did bad things, hilarious when Eddie Haskel hatched some scheme and things went bad. But, in the end they were all held accountable and we wished our parents were as understanding. We all knew they weren't, life isn't a sitcom. There were real world consequences for doing stuff like that! 

 You weren't going to win in life by lying, cheating, stealing and deceit. You had to earn your way! You have no right to anything you haven't earned. You'll get exactly what you deserve; in time. It just might not be what you expect! But you knew that, you took a chance, and guess what, you lost! The bad guys always lose in the end. Might be ostracized, might be imprisoned, might wind up being shot or hanged. Whatever the outcome was, it wasn't good. Is that the lessons being taught today through television and social media? I don't think so. 

                                                                               

                                                    It's like they knew where it was going