Wednesday, May 3, 2017

In reality

Television is full of reality shows. My Kitchen Rules, The Block, Masterchef, the Kardashians, the Apprentice, Survivor, the Real Housewives of wherever are just a few of these shows that seem to play endlessly on tv. I admit I have watched a couple of such series in my time. I did watch the first couple series of Survivor because it was new and different then. But it became boring. I liked to watch Sell this House where a designer would come in and make an old  house suitable for selling.  And I like Love it or List it where a realtor and a designer would compete to get a couple to decide either to love their renovated house or move in to a new house. I have never watched a Kardashian, or a real house wife series because I don't see how watching loud bombastic people benefits me. If I want to hear such chicanery, I just need to stand in front of a pub on a Friday night near closing time.

For many people they want to escape reality. The news on tv is bad. Governments talk about short falls, blame previous governments, cut backs, and raised taxes. The media seems fixed on topics like murders, terrorism, and global warming. People talk about overcrowded roads, the high cost of housing, and strained health services.  Is it any wonder we want to escape from reality?

Now I know some people feel that we should just ignore the bad news and consider the good. I went to the Wild Ideas Festival last Sunday. The topic was does the church have a future.   One of the speakers used (misused) stats to say that everything was wonderful in the world and yes the church could only grow. But we know that everything is not wonderful in the world. Refugee totals are at historically high levels. 650 million people live in dire poverty. Economic inequality is growing (where the 8 richest people in the world have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 3.6 billion).  Another speaker at the same event had nothing good to say about the church or the state of the world. For him the world was in crisis. There was no hope. According to that speaker, humanity is on the decline.

I think the answer is somewhere in between these two poles. Yes there are problems in the world.  But I see hope everyday. New babies born. Birds singing. People doing selfless acts.  On the other hand, many things are wonderful.  But we can still do better. Some are getting left behind. There are injustices that need to be righted. This is much more real than any housewives show.  Blessings.

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