Reality TV? Whose Reality?

First of all, I want to point out that I believe the world as I knew it has gone crazy; that said, I will repeat: the world has absolutely gone crazy. If you don’t believe me, check out the daily news for confirmation. If the news does not do it for you; check out the TV Guide to see what’s on. On any given day or night, the programming sucks, there is a proliferation of so called reality shows. Whose reality exactly? I am not sure. But the number of people who are willing to get paid for exposing parts of their life, those parts they should clearly be keeping to themselves, never ceases to amaze me. It is evident that we now live in a society which has given up on basic common sense, manners, and dare I say it… decency.

Go ahead and watch any of the number of “so called” reality shows and you’ll feel your “cringe factor” go up a few notches, “it will be kicked up a notch” as Emeril would say. It used to be that there was some level of censorship applied to TV shows who make use of “objectionable” language, and certain intimate scenes were deemed too risqué for general audiences (especially during daytime shows); surely, any kind of “sex talk" was out of the question; that does not seem to be the case anymore.

I am no prude, never have been, but I’ve now gotten to the point where I only watch some news programs, and select shows on TV; I dislike anything that displays a lack of sensitivity toward those of us watching, so that pretty much leaves out all crime shows (too much violence), some cartoons, and of course, most reality shows, especially the housewives series (what a joke!) as I cannot relate to any of them (NY, LA, ATL, whatever). None of the real housewives I’ve ever known behave like these women on TV do.

I am a fan of HGTV, because I am able to learn something from the shows I chose to watch, things that I can actually use; I am a dog lover, so Dog Whisperer tickles my fancy, so do many of the shows on PBS, History, and Discovery channels; again, because I can learn something.

One of the bright spots on the “tely” (as the British say) is CBS’s Sunday Morning Show. It “reports” not “fabricates” the news as many of the other shows do. That aside, the segment titled “Brain Drain” featured during a recent broadcast, got me thinking about the serious problems we are experiencing educating our children. Jobs are been outsourced to countries like India, Philippines, and many others because they have figured a path to success. They place a higher emphasis on education and training; while our students think the way to success rests on playing with a ball (football, basketball, baseball).

Many of the foreign countries have also decided that sending their children to receive their education in the old USA is their best investment to ensure they are in the best position to compete; they get trained by the best scholars money can buy, and go back to their countries—degree in hand, to apply what they learned, help grow their countries’ economies and surpass Americans at their own game. Genius!

This is serious stuff and we better get cracking to reverse this “brain drain” trend. Parents: YOU must step up to the plate ASAP to make sure your children receive the education they not only deserve, but desperately need in order to compete and to make headway in the increasingly global world we now live in. And, it would not be a bad thing if they also learn to speak other languages (once they perfect English, of course). Japanese, Chinese, or Spanish come to mind.

Who knows, the trends may soon reverse and mastery of a foreign language may be required of our students in order to get a job; be it at home, in China, Japan, Spain or anywhere else in the world.

That’s what I’m Talking About!

Marcia C