It was awful. There were hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, tidal waves, and thunder and lightning storms. The manager of the power grid center lost most of the power in the Midwest but he didn’t panic. At home that morning, his teenage daughter was full of angst at breakfast but he explained to his wife he wasn’t able to help much since the entire Midwest was under siege from God knows what. Additionally, the power company was behaving unscrupulously (imagine that). When he arrived at work his staff bombarded him with questions but he spun around the crisis center nailing well planned action responses as he was trained to do. He was interviewed by the national press where he was asked hard questions which he answered expertly and smoothly. He was exhausted and could barely stop to think. And yet, stop he did---to run over to a five-star hotel down the street from the power grid crisis center to roll in the hay with a beautiful federal weather expert sent from DC to help him. She helped him all right. It didn’t sound like fiction to me.
That was from Category 6: Day of Destruction. It was a movie I watched on the SyFy Channel and it was the inspiration for this post. With all the recent storms and damage in the Midwest the SyFy Channel played many disaster films all day. Some of them didn’t seem as bad as what we were watching live on TV.
So the crisis manager had his hands full. Pun intended. Maybe that’s why we have so many problems in the world. Our leaders have to stop working in the middle of a disaster to have a romp. It must be true since it happens all the time at all levels from kings and queens and presidents to sports figures and former governors.
Humans are not as civilized as we like to think. Our animal urges are still going strong. We not only bonk like bunnies but we are aggressive and steal food (i.e. power and money) from competing animals. But mostly, we hump and we don’t care who it is, where it takes place, or whom in our lives we hurt.
I’m glad I’m not a celebrity. It wouldn’t matter though because I don’t have any skeletons in my closet that could turn up on TMZ or CNN. So if I end up writing a Pulitzer Prize winning novel (little chance there) or getting sued for an inflammatory blog post (more of a chance there) I’ll be safe. Why? Because I respect myself and my family.
Celebrities have more pressure on them to behave. They are held to a different standard than us little folk down here. Celebrities and people who are responsible for children (teachers, priests, coaches, etc.) have a much higher standard to live up to. Keeping their pants zipped and their knees pressed tightly together should be their number one consideration.
It takes two to tango. I saw that on Dancing with the Stars so it must be true. Just because one has the opportunity to behave like a pig doesn’t mean one must. There are so many things we all desire: money, jewels, cars, alcohol, drugs, chocolate (that last one is for me), and so forth. But wanting “stuff” doesn’t mean we can take “stuff” whenever we want. I learned that as a child. Never steal. That goes for sex. We can’t have it just because we want it or just because it’s available or in some sad cases when it isn’t offered but is taken anyway, physically or emotionally. (Coercion by a powerful employer is a form of rape.) And how many unfaithful rats bring home disease to their families? Condoms work to a point but not everyone uses them and sometimes they aren’t used properly.
I’ve heard opinions that celebrities must only be judged by their professional lives and their personal lives are their own business. That was true when we lived in caves. Back then in our early history Gorg didn’t know that Morg in the next cave was bonking Lorg and Dorg so Gorg wasn’t influenced by Morg’s bad behavior. Today it is impossible to flip on the TV, radio, or computer without a headline about someone getting arrested for a DUI, or attacking someone while in a drunken stupor, or cheating on a spouse, beating a significant other, or murdering a significant other. The list is long. We’ve all seen it and all too often. Do kids and teens think it’s cool? The TV ratings say yes because guess who’s watching?
What is the matter with us? With all our professed religiosity we seem to be acting more horribly than ever. Or maybe we just are more aware of it due to outrageous media proliferation of information of that sordid nature. My God, we’ve developed TV shows just to deliver that salacious news TO THE WORLD. We get offended when anyone challenges our Christian nation but our Christian celebrities are behaving abhorrently. Many of them, when caught, then do the “talk” of shame: I’m so sorry, I asked God to forgive me, I will never do that again, I pray to Jesus every night for forgiveness. Don’t send me to jail. (Worked for O.J.) Why is it so many find religion after they’ve done something wrong? Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? Isn’t that leaving the barn door open? Isn’t that . . . oh, never mind. I have a theory. Many people behave badly and prepare to repent once they are caught. It’s not a deterrent to bad behavior. It’s a strategy to get away with crappola then ask for forgiveness.
Celebrities should know that the moment they become famous they no longer have private lives. Not fair? Too bad. Let them flop around in their millions for a while and figure that one out. They owe it to society, let alone their families, to behave. Many of these people hop on the charity bandwagon and truly collect millions in the name of some organization then go out and make fools of themselves. It doesn’t work that way. Our citizenry and our children, in particular, need us to be strong and healthy and true to our families.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was running for governor of California a few women came forward to say he behaved badly and groped a few of them while at work. There was no conclusive evidence (rarely is) so it went away. Maria Shriver Schwarzenegger defended her husband and that was that. He promised to transform California but left it worse than when he found it. Maybe it’s because he was too busy fooling around in a hotel like the guy in Category 6: Day of Destruction. Hopefully he wasn’t fooling around in the Governor’s office. Or was he? That’s been done before as we all know too well.
Don’t be a Morg. And don’t be a mindless participant (like Lorg and Dorg). Call me crazy but it is absolutely possible to go through life without humping everything that moves.
Shame, shame, shame!
by Sylvia Robinson and performed by American disco band Shirley & Company. 1974
www.sharonstrawhandgarner.com
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