Entitlement TV

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Entitlement TV
by Dave Gibson, Columnist

January 23, 2006

Dave Gibson During a recent bout with the flu, I was forced to take a long look at what currently passes for entertainment upon the aptly named "idiot box." The scenes I witnessed that agonizing week were more sickening than the virus which befell me.

Ours has truly become an entitlement society. Nothing displays this painful truth more than our own television screens. Apparently, Americans have lost the ability or the will to control their own lives.

Everyday, we can tune into television shows which star our fellow countrymen as they all too willingly allow therapists, nutritionists, all manner of experts, and camera crews into their private lives. These otherwise self-sustaining adults readily take orders from strangers on matters from re-decorating to remaining faithful to their spouses.

My first experience with America's overgrown children was watching the Dr. Phil Show. For an hour, the self-styled relationship guru barks out orders and judgmental advice to his doe-eyed, submissive guests. Apparently, American couples have become so pitiful that they must throw themselves at the mercy of someone named "Dr. Phil" to save their marriage. Couples who claim to be too busy with work and kids to talk to one another--somehow have enough time to make a trip to Dr. Phil's studio! I guess even "supermoms" can spare two days in exchange for their fifteen minutes of fame (or is it shame?).

Just when I thought I had seen all of the manufactured grief humans could possibly conjure-up in one morning...I discovered an all-girl affair called "Starting Over". This show finds very whiny women who seem to relish the role of victim, and places them together in one house. The Starting Over gals work for weeks on such pressing matters as "eliminating chaos," "growing up at 40," and "learning to drop the hustle." The show employs other women known as "life coaches" to kick-start the ladies' spirits. All this time, I have been living my life without the benefit of a coach...it must be my parents' fault!

The whining does not stop at noon! The evening is also full of "handout" shows. "Extreme Makeover-Home Edition" always portrays a family of beggars who want a luxury home. The show begins with a tearful look at a most-deserving family, who has written the show pleading their need for a mansion. The homosexual-laden remodeling crew is never short on hugs, beautiful fabrics, and crocodile tears. The family is whisked away in a limousine, on a trip which they could never afford, and returns a few days later to a home which they could never afford. I guess after all else fails...You can beg your way to the American dream!

Then perhaps there is the most disgusting of all of these shows: "Nanny 911." Hapless parents (usually with half a dozen kids) ask a group of English nannies to instill manners in their children and basically give up control of their home to a complete stranger. It is the truly pathetic human who cannot call upon their own parental instincts. Am I the only one who thinks it strange that humans are the only mammals who seem to have great difficulty in raising their own offspring?

The popularity of this welfare programming speaks to the truly low state of the nation. Consider your grandparents reaction to such a show! I can hear my grandfather right now shouting at the television (an activity which was usually reserved for Friday night fights or Redskins' games)..."What's wrong with you?," "Grow up already!" and "Can't you make your own way?"

As much as I miss my grandfather, I am thankful that he is not here to see the weak-minded, whiny nation that we have become. We do not need television shows, personal trainers, and life coaches (whatever they are) to fix that which is wrong in our lives. We do however, need self-discipline and determination to achieve our goals. The tools we need to lose weight, make a good living, and raise healthy and productive children are inside all of us. Unfortunately, too many Americans have become too lazy to implement hard choices.

It's amazing that our grandparents saved the world from the Nazis, fought the Cold-War, and built this nation's infrastructure--all without the help of "life coaches!"...How did they do it? ***

Photo of Dave Gibson courtesy of staff files
Photo of Dr. Phil McGraw courtesy of his web site