I use Yahoo as my launching pad to the world of current events. It has the headlines, world, local, tech and science sections that I peruse for articles that might be of some interest. I’ll find something that catches my eye and see what the details of the thumbnail captions bring.
Today though, I was talking with my wife as she pointed out the fairly ridiculous nature of the news on Yahoo, and I suspect most everywhere else as well. “US soccer star in body paint”; “Cities with most speed traps”; “wild singer cleans up”; “Outrageous couple pics”; “oddest Grammy hairstyles.” So, does anyone really care about this stuff?
I suppose we must, otherwise it wouldn’t be making the headlines, right? I’m getting a bit tired of the over-the-top ads and photos too. Everything is sold with “sex” or “sexy” or something similar. It’s bad enough that every issue of COSMO has the ever present sex tips, but it’s even hitting the cover of the Smithsonian. Ready for this one? “The World’s Sexiest Flower” Really? It is actually an article on orchids! Attractive, sure, but sexy? The article talks about the lengths that the botanists go to in creating hybrid flowers and how the showy flowers are competing to be pollinated.
The world is fueled on sensationalism; the weird and wacky, the bold and beautiful, the sleazy and flaunting, the rich the powerful all in the headlines. If you can combine some of those traits it is even better. Look at the cover of Outside. A lovely young lady, Lolo Jones, who is training to make a comeback in the high hurdles, is posing. She is not in a track suit as you would have first guessed. She is in a sort of bathing suit. I thought about posting the picture, but then I’d just be contributing to the madness. The suit is really more akin to what the character LeeLoo wore in the Fifth Element. You may recall the suit that looks like strips of cloth tied together in certain places. The fashion industry describes it as a suit with lots of ‘cutouts.’ I don’t find it that attractive; just more bizarre than your typical tight track outfit. Then in the same issue there’s a photo of Lance Armstrong. In this shot, Lance is shirtless and has his cycling shorts on. That in itself is not such a big deal. However, his shorts are scrunched down below his hips and if they were just the smallest amount lower we would all see for ourselves the surgery for his testicular cancer. Of course he is wearing his crucifix on a long chain too. Does this make sense to anyone? Why do we see this? Sensationalism.
The world is hooked on the next big buzz. We’re looking for the next provocative photo or video. We’re searching for the next rant and tirade. We’re hiding our eyes behind very openly laced hands to see the latest gore and gruesomeness in the recent murder, mayhem, heist and victim.
There may be a glimmer of hope. There are the cute videos of animals and babies that make us laugh and smile. There are a few inspirational stories that occasionally make the cut. Does anyone find this all sad that the ‘normal’,nice and uplifting are so overshadowed by the next sensation? We live in a brave new world where all the latest is available in minutes via Twitter and FaceBook and the latest headlines from around the globe. Can’t we pick up on the meaningful and good that surely exists as well? Can we do it without exploitation? Can we be decent enough that we’ll buy a magazine for the actual content without the provocative photos?
I wish I had a sure and quick response to halt the current tide. I don’t think there is a fast and easy way to ebb the flow, but I would suggest that following in the footsteps of Jesus might be a slow, steady and worthwhile start.
Blessings,
Brian
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