degradation

can i be honest about something? i am really concerned about the state of affairs with the airwaves in this country. i know that must sound rather bizarre for me to say, but let me explain....

it wasn't that long ago that you couldn't hear bad words on the television - at least not on the networks. now, you're lucky if people aren't cursing. and yes, i know, THAT's not the end of the world. i mean, there are worse things you could say. but here's the thing: they're starting to crop up. and not just words, but actions. i never would have imagined a day when i would turn on the television and see two women or two men making out in front of the camera....or two people in bed having sex.....or all of the blood and gore and gratuitous violence. i am, to say the least, disheartened. surprised? no. disheartened.

we live in a sensationalist society. we've become intolerant of average experiences. everything has to be extreme in order to hold our completely miniscule attention spans. in order to have fun, we have to play extreme sports, or participate in extreme reality shows. our food has gotten bigger (have you noticed that even the 'small' fries at mcdonalds aren't 'small' anymore?) if you can't drive thru, order it online, download it, or get it on pay-per-view, then what's the point? you need it NOW. everything has to happen right NOW. it's all about what i want NOW. our interests for life are waning, our ability to stay in relationships (why bother? they take too much work!) is at an all-time low, and our apetites are at an all-time high.

oy. this gives me a headache.

the more and more i think about the world we live in, the less comfortable i feel with the notion that my children, should i have them, will be exposed to all of this mess. and i feel that i can say one thing for sure: there will not be much in the way of tv watching going on in my home. even now, the only way that i can find something decent/educational/interesting to watch is to have cable. with a few exceptions, i hardly tune in to network tv.

i have, however, been watching the new show 'joan of arcadia.' if you're not familiar, it's an hour-long 'family' drama in which joan, a 16-year old high school student, is visited by 'God' on a regular basis and is told to do certain projects, befriend certain people, etc. and often, she does so, even without knowing God's purpose for her in the situation. of course, just to mix it up, God shows up in different 'packaging' each time He appears to joan. and i find it interesting that, now that joan has been interacting with God on a regular basis, she's starting to recognize Him immediately, regardless of the form He takes.

anyway, it's a fascinating premise. might be worth checking out sometime if you're home on a friday night, as i tend to be:).

with all of that being said, i shall now step down off of my soapbox about our society and all its issues. at the end of the day, things are going along just as He said they would. we've always needed Him. sometimes i think this time is a gift - to help us see how truly desperate we are.