Sports Illustrated is one of my favorite reads. Always has been, always will be.
One of the funny and disturbing oddities of SI is its “Signs of the Apocalypse” blurb in the front editorial portion.
Every week, SI has a one or two sentence fact such under this title, such as “A Yankee fan cut off his left thumb because it touched a Red Sox World Series trophy.”
So I commonly tell people, “Man, that’s a sure sign of the apocalypse.”
Now, in the next few hundred words I’d like to share my Signs of the Apocalypse:
“Moment of Truth” tv show --- Since when did humiliation and lying become such a media hit? It is evil that millions tune in to watch a husband be asked, “Did you ever sleep with one of your wife’s girlfriends?” or ‘Have you ever looked at another man and been physically attracted to him?” Sick.
My Dad’s better than your Dad TV show--- And we question why out-of-control parents go to playgrounds, curse at umps, and fist fight and use bats as battle weapons?
Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, etc -- Last time I checked, sleeping around was a sin, and watching it a close second.
Two and a Half Men --- I am not making what I’m about to say up or exaggerating: Everytime I have mistakenly channel-surfed onto this show, the characters are talking in blatant sexual innuendo about having sex, getting drunk and forgetting who they slept with, gag gag blah blah blah. And anytime I’ve kept it on longer than this split second, the little boy living with the sex addicts is part of the innuendos. Does anything say slimey, dirt-bag, gutter more than Charlie Sheen?
Mariah Carey – Great voice, but at some point her plastic, surgerically enhanced breasts scream “Slut.” And her latest video of her “Touch my Body” song. Candy porn. Did anyone else see her outfit to throw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game recently?
Horror movie commercials on TV: It's a sad day when I have to rush my children out of the room so they don't see the rated R previews. Ditto for the commercial scenes of Grey's Anatomy, ER, Desparate Slutwives.
Shame on the TV execs who allow basically soft-porn on the TV during prime time.
And shame on any of us parents who watch this garbage, or let our children watch it.
"Oh, but it's just a TV show," some will way. "We tell our kids it's not real/We know it's not real."
An old wise man once said, Garbage in, Garbage out.
It's beyond my simple little common sense, logical brain as to why adults choose to watch these shows. The simple fact (not opinion) is that we as a society don't see these signs of the Apocalypse as threats. Fact is as we continue to just look the other way and do nothing, we numb ourselves to the violence, the vulgarity, the sinful sex.
Finally, this absolute anesthesizing of our minds is maybe the saddest Sign of the Apocalypse.
