(F)uck Dynasty.

Whenever someone complains about bad officiating in sports, I say that the problem with leagues expanding to more teams is that there is a need for more officials.  More officials means more bad ones and that means there will be more bad calls.  The same is true of television.

 

Back in the 1960s (where I come from) television was confined to three networks, PBS and a few UHF channels that you needed a special antenna to receive.  Now - there are hundreds of channels, all in need of programming in order to fill their 24-hour cycle.  From that was borne such things as so-called "reality" shows and programs that do nothing but follow people around for days at a time, editing their activities down to a half-hour and showing it on television.  From that, we have created television stars where otherwise would have been just regular people doing their jobs.  That is where the problems start.

 

People like the Kardashian's, those housewives and other such TV-created people find themselves in the limelight where they should really be in the background.  It is the expansion of television that has created so-called stars and forced us to pay attention to their viewpoint.  One could even say that the Internet has forced people like myself to find a forum where I would otherwise be ranting to a select group of people, instead of the World-Wide Web.  Go figure.

 

The latest sputum from one of these TV stars comes in the form of "Duck Dynasty," a previously harmless program about some hicks who have made a fortune out of manufacturing duck calls.  Sounds like a perfect TV platform, right?  Sure, if you are completely out of pawn shop owners, motorcycle makers, and over-sexed housewives to exploit.  Yeah.  To wit, comments from "Duck Dynasty" star (yeah) Phil Robertson went like this:

 

“Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers - they won’t inherit the kingdom of God.  Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

 

Apparently, the homosexuals were the only people offended by Mr. Robertson's comments.  Perhaps that is because adulterers, male prostitutes and greedy drunkards do not have a political action group?  Either that, or hate only manifests itself in the form of homosexual love.  I have no idea.

 

Since that wasn't enough, he continued:

 

“It seems to me, a vagina - as a man - would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” he said. “That’s just me. I’m just thinking, ‘There’s more there! She’s got more to offer.’ I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”

 

Logical?  What's logical about eating pig's feet or goat testicles?  Were we put here to decide what is logical for each other?  People drive vehicles that are meant to be used in warfare.  They smoke cigarettes.  They consume massive quantities of food and alcohol.  Our tastes in music, movies and television vary so much that even programs like "Duck Dynasty" are viewed by 13 million people every week.  What is logical about any of that?

 

Were we put here to judge the habits of our fellow humans or were we put here to be who we were made to be?  If you believe in God - the God who made your body and made it in His image - can you be intolerant of how others behave?

 

The anger and outrage that has been directed at those comments leaves me wondering (a) why it is only directed at the homosexual side of the comment and (2) why the anger exists to begin with.

Leave the judgment to God, if that is where you place your faith.  Otherwise, leave people to live their own lives.  Vent your anger where it will do some good - like the obscene number of television programs and how much attention we pay to people who otherwise would be ranting to themselves.
 

Wouldn't that make the world a better place?