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Nov. 27, 2004 Marriage is indeed a train wreck today. Now that we have elected a president who is devoted to preserving the institution of marriage, let's put our money where our mouth is. Nowhere do you see crusading conservatives railing against the dangers of what really threatens our society. And it's not a dopey Super Bowl halftime show that was engineered by the cable network that brings us flavorful programming like "Viva La Bam," "The Real World" and "Pimp My Ride." America's couch potatoes are too deeply inured to the pablum that is heaped upon them in quickie marriages that are stage managed by the truckload. "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" are teaching us that hot tubs and roses are all it takes to find a suitable spouse. Jerry Falwell is amazingly silent about this phenomenon and the family watchdog groups are not beating down the doors of the FCC to limit such salacious television fare. It seems that as long as the 'characters' are straight God-fearing folk, they can hook up with reckless abandon with none of the consequence of an adversiter boycott. The ratings betray our prurient tastes for creating future unions between the beautiful people that last no longer than a junior high school girl's crush. It's disgusting that our morals are so selective. We seem to believe that as long as it's a heterosexual divorce or breakup that it's perfectly normal for them to pick up the emotional pieces and move on to their next quarry. As if it wasn't enough to thumb our noses at holy matrimony in reality televison, we continue our lemming-like chase to disgrace with our fascination with "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance." The premise of the show has a young lady bamboozling her family into thinking she is marrying a disgusting lout for the joy of cash and prizes. I hope that this money covers the amount of therapy it takes to repair her family's lost trust. Wedding bells also ring hollow for the rich and famous who are taking their turn on the marriage- go-round. Radio talk show host Neal Boortz is right when he says that Hollywood marriages are not sacred pacts but business arrangements that are designed to maximize public relations and buzz for the celebs who claim to be bonding till death do they part. I don't think that anyone advocates a return to the scarlet letter but it definitely seems tempting in light of the likes of Jennifer Lopez. Remember the days when stars were condemned on the floor of Congress for their debauched living? Ingrid Bergman comes to mind for her then-controversial affair with a married man. Today, we have a press that fawns on Britney Spears' marriage to a backup dancer but scarely grants sympathy to the woman and child he abandoned. After all, we don't want to rain on her fabulous parade and lose our exclusives. The queen of all marital excess in out time? That would be Jennifer Lopez. She contrives films, records and marriages to stay in the public eye. When the afterglow fades, she moves on to her next endeavor. In spite of our extra-constitutional efforts, I fear that marriage will continue to be under attack but it won't be from gays. It will be from an America that claims to have family values but continues to venerate those who don't. ------------ Email John L. Meeks, Jr.: johnlouismeeks@earthlink.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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