Shell-Shocked By Society: What Have We Become?

This is so true Bill. What have we become? Sodom and Gomorrah x 100. This is so true and so disheartening. I often wonder where the love for our fellow man/woman has gone. As always a great read.

billybuc, your gut instinct is right on with all of these instances. I often find myself straddling the divide between disgust and rubbernecking, especially when it comes to television these days. I try to ask myself, "What sort of self-knowledge and growth does this program offer me? Would I want my viewing dollars going towards this individual's programs and initiatives?"

More often than not, the answer is a loud, resounding NO. Watching a show is like voting to keep it on the air.

But, I'm more upset and confused about how these things come to be. I draw a parallel between these issues with bull fighting. I don't understand the beauty of slaying a creature for sport, but perhaps that's too loaded of a comparison. That's just one tiny tip of the iceberg regarding that line of thought.

I could just sigh and say "Where are we all going?," but I feel like that's an overly defeatist mentality. I know where I'm going, and I know that the best thing I can do is model healthy, productive, and healing behaviors. I'll pull my energy this way, and anyone who wants to jump on board can do so!

Of course, this is a wonderful hub. Deeply insightful, and very useful. Please always keep writing!

I am always amazed at the craziness and cruelty in our world. Whether it be people or animals. A couple was just convicted of making videos or animal torture. What about mothers who buy name brand clothes instead of feeding their babies. The Jerry Springer show is pretty awful but people love to see the craziness...go figure. With today's technology we see everything...I think this stuff has been going on for years..we just see it as soon as it happens..And unfortunately misery does love company. I can only say on a much milder level when I am having aproblem I cannot solve and I know other people also live with it...It makes me not feel alone, but I don't wish bad for people. Yes Bill, it is all pretty crazy stuff...

Inspired by you, we seek for the real true. Moving hearts and souls... what we will seen in a year, will be different from what we were looking for. Hope this H.O.W. gets as far as an idealistic star. You are doing well my friend! Where the heck is Jerry anyway?

A hub that makes one think harder, examine more closely, and question society is a hub that needed to be written. This one, meets all the criteria Bill. As I read about the baby seal picture, I wondered, was there an assumption made, that it was posted out of cruelty? Or, was it lack of understanding social media that made the poster post it without a caption? Or, how are friends being chosen on facebook?

You see, I don't friend just anyone. I only friend those that I have something in common with. Many of my friends would have posted that picture, but, there would have been a mini-thesis included, screaming the wrongfulness of animal abuse. There may have been fractured sentences or mis-spellings but there would have been a message.

Also, if that photo had been posted without a caption, I do not think I would have assumed it was done in pleasure over the cruelty exhibited. I would have assumed that the poster shared my disgust and wanted to promote eradication of animal cruelty.

So, my question is, I guess, how much of our response falls back on our own attitude? The Springer show was as disgusting as anything I've ever seen and I feel only slightly less anger towards the reality shows.

Pack mentality is a phenomenon present in nature so I do not think it is necessarily bad. I do think, as you have said in so many ways, that the response by the pack is largely dependent on what they are being fed. Feed them good and they will rise up in goodness. Feed them evil and they will manifest more evil.

The answer is, love. As you have said, it is the only answer.

Voted way up my friend, and sharing, sharing, sharing.

Once again you hit the nail on the proverbial head and can't say enough how sometimes people just can be awful to one another. I am trying to teach my kids right from wrong, but even at three years old I saw Emma treating another little girl less than nice. Let's just say Kevin and I did everything would could to stop her behavior immediately. I think it goes back to parenting and would agree with this after also hearing how your described your own parents. Seriously, thanks for always being that voice of reason adn have of course voted up and shared all over as always!!

Bill once again you have rung that bell of insightful thought powers that relate to us all through your writings, and in the name of calling upon humanity to wake up!, but this time you brought along with you some cool angelic wings to share with others that can only come from the man upstairs & this is why I love reading your hubs.

Are you sure you never became an aircraft pilot, because you sure know how to fly up high with these visual words of enlightenment bro.

I liked how you ended this hub with the repeat proof of our short comings as a people worldwide who crave to put others down, and all. I always hated boxing, I think Jerry Springer was a clown, and I never care to watch negative imagery at all, not even in movies anymore, because I feel it is one of the main reason so many folks have been desensitized to human injustice.

Lets just blame Hollywood for such poor programming of the mind, and human psyche, and yes indeed our hearts as a whole are in need of a make over.

Another great hub bro! Bravo!!!!! thumbs up and out.......

Merry Christmas Bill and please have a wonderful New Year with your wife Bev.

The lie detector test has determined that you're not the father. I'm sorry Billy, but your introduction cracked me up! The Jerry Springer show is total trash and the women who participate in the show have no self-respect whatsoever. Their cheating boyfriend humiliates them in public and tells them that they want nothing to do with them and these women are still wondering if they should take him back. Hello! Something is seriously wrong with society. Morality has gone down to hell in a hand basket. It seems like Jerry, Jerry, Jerry is reinventing himself these days.. Lol. I don't know if you're aware, but he has another show called Baggage dating show where both men and women bring their own baggage to the first date. It's very funny too, but what a show!

What the hell is going on? This title made me laugh! of course this is no laughing matter, but you're so right, there's nothing entertaining about a baby seal getting its head bashed in by a man wielding a club." Either they have some sort of maschoist streak in their personality or there's something seriously wrong psychologically with the chemistry in their brain. Okay, Billy, sorry about this little rant. I have to listen to the video later on when I have more time and read your other How article. Voting up!

Bill please excuse my vulgarity here, but that dude's picture makes "my fanny want to suck a lemon"(among the list of my pop's most admired comments). I agree with your posting, and we should seek much more worthy attributes, which deserve a true celebration, in our society. A very good statement and well done, my friend. whonu

Thank you billy. I didn't know that I was that passionate, but I guess it did come out. Keep up the good work... your articles are amazing!

Violence begets violence. I don't have a TV, either. Quite frankly, I don't have time for it. All my friends on Facebook don't send me or show any of us those nasty things involving people or animals that other people seem to live for.

It is very alarming to think about the number of people who watch such shows as Springer. Trash!

Being the optimist that I am, I still hold on to the fact we have more good folks out there than morons.....

this is another very informative hub with a real purpose.

up and awesome,

Chris

Billy, the Jerry Springers of this world are reincarnated as Jeremy Kyle and the craziness goes on. There is something in the human psyche that need to experience the worst that life can offer from the safety of the arm chair. Maybe it's the 'there but for the grace of God' thinking, or maybe it is even more insidious. There is an old Yorkshire saying 'there's nowt so queer as folk' and isn't that the truth!

So well said my friend...but a sad commentary on our collective society all the same. It is up to each of us to speak up when we see something that is wrong, to let advertisers know when the shows they sponsor offend us, and to stand up to bullies everywhere.

I think we have become hardened to reality when it comes to violence. The movies keep intensifying the action and it deadens our emtional levels of empathy. You are so right, our society is not far from the gladiators of Rome. Those of us who are positive and caring must continue to reach out to others as we can. Thanks for leading this movement.

Billy - I back you 100%. It does no good to consider writing my hub and my letter a completed sufficient task. I am diligently working on it and will be contacting the wonderful resource you provided.

Great job again my end of the rainbow friend.

Sad but so very true; it appears that everyone is so filled with angst that it actually makes them happy to witness these horrific moments or exhibits of public humiliation.

Well - I finally did it. I crashed head on into two of your hubs and ended up putting the above comment meant for your other hub!

I have felt the same way the time I viewed Jerry Springer and it was so full of people beating up on each other I actually questioned whether or not it was staged. I do have a television and enjoy watching it but I don't care for shows that make money from others low points during life and I don't care to include them in mine. Life hands us enough hardships, filling my extracurricular time needs laughter .

I will admit to watching documentaries that bring me into the lives of others I find interesting. There is a show called "Growing up Amish" and I am fascinated by it.

I am not, nor do I wish to view a baby seal being clubbed.

Misery begets misery indeed.

Hey Billy - I just thought of a GREAT reality show where someone with a video camera can follow me around to places like my best friends house for the "underwear tree" I created or when my dog flashed the neighborhood my smiley underwear....hmmm underwear seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life....not such a good thing. Forget that suggestion

Well, Bill, what can I say? There is no arguing your point, that's for sure. However, this phenomenon is nothing new. Look at the violence in our sports, our TV shows and even our music? Look at how our young devalue and maim their bodies. In the end, no matter how much you dress him up, man is still just another animal, and what you wrote about here is proof of that. Some among us rise to a higher level, but as misery increases, so does the lust for violence. I am so glad I'm old!

I think many people get sucked into stupid media, and the media believes the gorier, trashier, more violent, etc., the more people will watch and the more profit they'll make. Maybe they're right; I have no idea. I wish I had a creative solution to this. I try to live a decent life (no TV, either), form bonds with good people, model what I hope is ethical behavior, write and speak out, and hope for the best. Not much of an answer, I know. Thanks for speaking out on it.

Billybuc, I'm moved and speechless after watching that video. That was something awesome, your first poem, eh? It was excellent because it was driven by your passion, my friend, your heartfelt desire to make this world a better place for yourself, Beverly, and for us all. Ups for the poem!

As for our shell-shocked society? Jeeez, billybuc, I don't know. I don't get it either - our need to witness and be entertained by suffering. I don't understand the motives of the Jerry Springers, Maury Poviches, or even the Dr. Phils, who provide a platform to shame, embarrass, and humiliate vulnerable people in public. Every time I channel surf and come across one of them, it disturbs me. I have to turn the channel really fast. Some reality tv is just . . . out of control. I did a hub on how to cultivate positive self-images for little girls who are exposed to poor images of themselves on these reality shows, most of which showcase WOMEN and GIRLS behaving badly!!! Thanks for this hub, billybuc. Voted up, useful, and awesome.

Many issues are blamed for the problems we have today, but at the core is a lack of compassion. It's why people are unhappy, why they hurt others physically and mentally, and why they find misery and violence fun to watch. It's like these shows--Maury, is it?--that do the whole paternity testing thing. That's a child! How can you be entertained when a child's well-being is at stake? It should be illegal. Like Marvin said, "Makes me wanna holler and throw up both my hands!"

Another Excellent Hub Bill. The biggest reverse culture shock I have faced since returning home is American Television. There is so much garbage on it makes me want to throw the TV out the door. Stupid, disgusting, cheap, tacky, sickening, sad, creepy are just a few of my adjectives… Springer is as creepy as they come, I would think you would have to de-slime yourself if you ever went to his studio.

When I do watch have gone retro and am watching old TV shows and wanted to laugh very loudly when one of the old westerns got a PG rating.

I watched the Springer show and was amazed how ignorant people can be, another one was the ' Octomom ' A woman so intent on having multiple babies, ( eight ) Via vitro fertilisation and was on welfare. I rarely watch TV unless it's one of the old classics. I still love ' The Andy Griffith show. ' Such a nice simple time in America. Cheers my friend..

billybuc yes we are definitely better than this. I really wonder what is going on in this world of ours where gross and cruel events become popular on social networking sites. Really scary to think, we are crossing the line that differentiates us from beasts. Very sad.

I agree with you that misery loves company...no wonder such weird shows are still running season after season. I watched jerry springer show once and was horrified.

We hardly watch tv cause of these reasons.

Seriously our tastes have gone to the gutters. No Sophistication or modesty left and the producers should try to make intelligent shows but just wanna make money out of it thus, keep showcasing such kinda shows!

Bill, this is so well put together...I have browsed past these shows too and I couldn't even stand to watch...the thing that got to me the most was how could everyone applaud...I couldn't believe that they showed their disgust of someone elses actions by acting in a disgusting way themselves...it made my sympathy for the person who in most cases was the perpetrator outweigh the sympathy I should have been feeling for the victim of the initial crime and the things that had happened previously were buried under what I was seeing in real time or in the latest time. I have been wanting to write something about this very same subject but I couldn't have said it better myself...Kudos, my friend. Voted +++

In 1996 I preset Abraham Lincoln high school a check for $25,000. I made arrangement for the news media to cover the event. None of them showed up. There were too many crimes that night.

I too am disgusted by shows like Jerry Springer. What could possibly be so entertaining about watching people disgrace themselves so publicly? And what makes these very same people want to disgrace themselves like this.

Sadly, having been saturated with programming like this for the past 10 years or so, people are beginning to believe that this is perfectly normal behaviour! So what is the next thrill going to be? Live public executions held at Madison Square Garden or Wembly Fox TV having the exclusive broadcasting rights?

Life imitating art? I fear this is so.

Billy,

Under the guise of freedom of speech and expression, society is now a reflection of what is being popularized in the movies, songs, and other types of media. Having never learned family and moral values, the bad nature of people is coming out in all of those who cheer Springer shows and delight in the helpless being beaten and killed. Voted up, shared with followers, and pinned.

Bill, 2 things stand out for me in this hub: your sentence about crowds cheering in Roman times when Christians were fed to the lions, and your comment that people feel better about themselves when they see others being miserable. In other words, what you are seeing is nothing new - it's been going on since Roman times or longer - and you are, in my opinion, exactly right in why people entertain themselves this way. It does give them a sense of feeling better.

Do you know the writer Eckhart Tolle? If not, I think you would find what he has to say about why people seek out drama and unhappiness very interesting and in line with what you observe here. He sees is as almost a separate entity or an addiction to unhappiness. This is what he says, "Once unhappiness has taken you over, not only do you not want to end it, but you want to make others as miserable as you are in order to feed on their negative emotional reactions." He says people associate pain with pleasure because of this, and drama feeds it. Hence those people's enjoyment of the drama on Jerry Springer. According to Tolle, this is why violent films attract such large audiences, and tabloid "newspapers" sell not news, but emotions. (He considers the UK's to be particularly adept at this, and I agree.)

He says that most people are completely unaware that they are doing this (again nothing new, Jesus said: "Forgive them Father they no not what they do.")

Tolle also says that when you can't stand the endless cycle of suffering any more you begin to awaken. He sees the solution as lying in awareness: in noticing how we feel and in allowing that rather than trying to make ourselves feel better by getting caught up in drama or judging others or ourselves. He also says that some films, that show the origins and consequences of violence to both victim and perpetrator actually help people become aware of their insanity.

I may be deluded, but I actually feel quite hopeful for the state of our world, for many reasons including that so many of the young adult books and films around just now are about the effects violence has on people - there is no glorification at all, but instead these books show the terrible consequences and offer solutions. (The Hunger Games is the most prominent example, but there are many more.)

A wonderful read Billy and yes of course we are all aware of what goes on around us but sadly it is so commonplace by now that the element of surprise or shock has lessened somewhat. This in itself is a tragedy and I am such a believer in making the small and weak stronger;obviously I do not mean in size but in self respect; in fighting their corner; in living their life as fully as they should .

I did not learn from my parents to be kind;to be caring and loving. I was shown cruelty and pain of the highest degree but as you know by now it is from Mother Nature I learnt love and compassion.This may seem a little far fetched to some but it is true !!!

I feel from my heart where there is violence and pain and as you say Billy to put the fear of god into others;to ridicule others to make ourselves feel better is sickening.

You are an amazing writer Billy and since the very beginning I have been able to relate.

You are so right for us to do nothing to help and I so agree with your words "We cannot ignore our higher calling. Where there is suffering, we must be the instrument of relief. Where there is turmoil, we must be the calming waters of peace. Where there is injustice, we must be the messengers of compassion and righteousness."

"To do less is beneath us!"

this hub I vote across/up and share all around.

Lots of love to you both.

Eddy.

Already many readers have expressed their worry towards the core issue and in nutshell, is the worsening of society, by TV shows or by cinema, Still it is not too late, A nation wide movement in this direction is definitely required and i believe a writer's pen is the strongest weapon in the world, I salute to this wonderful hub, Always with your mission. Girish

We have Jeremy Kyle in UK, it's the same format, a bunch of dysfunctional people airing their dirty laundry in public. Who's the father, who have you been sleeping with, who have you been abusing.....? The list is endless and awful. Quite frankly I don't understand why they feel the need to do this, except that I believe they get about £1,000 each for appearing on the UK show! No amount of money could induce me to to this, the shame would be too much. Their lives must be appalling, I really do not get how they keep going, it is quite beyond words.

Great Hub, very interesting and obviously got a lot of people talking - got my dander up, well done.

I'm thinking that many watch shows like this to make them feel better about themselves. They know they are warped and screwed up, but not as bad as those on the Jerry Springer show. Kind of like a 300 pound person looking at a 500 pound person and judging him to be overweight.

I guess you’ve had your answer, Bill, in all these comments.

No, you are not on your own … but there are those amongst us who have somehow become other.

These are the ones who are seemingly fascinated by death, violence, vulgar stupidity and the weak-minded who are so desperate to be on TV that they will air their dirty little lives with enthusiasm in front of an audience.

They are encouraged by the untalented, the grinning show hosts who egg them on to fresh absurdities simply to get ratings. These people may earn a lot of money but it’s tainted.

In 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger made film called The Running Man. It depicted a lethal game show where the ‘running man’ could avoid being publicly executed by his own cunning and wits. The baying audiences of today remind me of the slavering crowd on this film.

Like you I feel strongly about this … it seems at times as if everything that is good and honest, decent and caring has gone from the world.

But it hasn’t … there are wonderful folk out there. Good, honest, caring and committed to doing good people … but the media cannot make money out of such people.

So, it focuses on the others, the sub-standard, the unfeeling and the shallow. Let us just hope they are in the minority ...

Bill, I'm so glad you enjoyed the Tolle perspective! I've found very helpful over the years and when I saw what you had written it just came to mind. It was great to read it again, and I think you are spot on about the drinkers. There can be a perverse pride in being miserable I'd say. It's my sense that this is in all of us to some degree, but as we heal we loosen the pull of misery and feel more and more at home in peace.

I probably should have mentioned that the quote comes from "A New Earth." He's probably better known for "The Power of Now," but in my opinion "A New Earth" is the better book, more accessible.

This reminds me how the TLC channel once stands for "The Learning Channel" has become a trashy channel on TV with reality shows like Honey Boo Boo, etc. Apparently, the ratings are high with shows like this compared to the no none-sense shows, which viewers now-a-days find boring and as you said here, it gives the viewer/audience that feel good/better sense.

No different from the songs of today (mostly trash) than of yesterdays. The world has changed Bill and sadly, this is what we have become--shallow mallow!

I'm glad, I'm not a TV fan....I only put it on to see the news and watch the NBA (time permitting).

Thanks for another wake up read Bill. Absolutely voting up and sharing.

Yes, CrisSp, the world has changed. But I still have faith, perhaps foolishly placed, that the world can change again for the better. If we want it too.

@phoenix2327: Oh yes, I agree with you. Despite some ugliness and foolishness, I still have faith on humanity and it will only get better, if we allow it to.

@Bill: Raptors sucks but I love my own. Lol! In general, I'm a Celtics fan.

Have a great weekend you all!

The cruelty is certainly spreading. Some people just don't think about the consequences of their actions. just now a poor nurse has committed suicide over a prank by an Aussie DJ. Sad.

My earliest memories are from the 60s. The Beatles, flower power, Vietnam, the Summer of Love...I guess I never stopped being a child of the 60s. Anything was possible. After all, all you needed was love. :)

Oh dear, bil, I'm so sorry you were exposed to the Jerry Springer Show of Trash and Disgust.......The fact that a show like that is allowed on air, angers me, to say the least. It is abominable. I refuse to think of these idiots as "main stream." They are NOT a fair or least of all, normal representation of the majority of real people.

I have no doubt, they go out in search of the lowest forms of life, to drag onto that show, strictly to be OUTRAGEOUS.

However, Mr. Springer claims his show to be authentic and legitimate......fine. These are the bottom feeders of our society.

This being said, I do realize it is shameful and sad that we live and work amongst the likes of this ilk.

Here, is where we must take a very serious and close look at "values," morals, upbringing....family dynamics and E D U C A T I O N. These are two areas in dire need of attention and assistance from human beings of substance and intelligence. Bravo, bil!...UP++++

Bill, you are so right: misery sells ratings (that's not what you said, but that's what is). I do own a TV and I do not watch reality TV or talk shows. I watch the Food Channel, The Cooking Channel, HGTV, Lifetime, Discovery and sitcoms when I watch TV.

I used to have a neighbor who had a f---ed up relationship between his wife and an ex. They went on Jerry Springer. They actually had a script they had to follow and a bitch fight was part of the script! That entire show is fabricated and is probably from where reality TV eminated.

It's all a bunch of crap. You don't need a TV my friend; you'd only raise your electrical bill for naught!

The sad reality of life is that so many people are not at peace with self. Its a sad thing to think that someone can be happy at the misery of another. if more people thought like you do, it would be a better world.

Billybuc, thank you for this great Hub. I hope it continues to inspire us and make us all think a bit (a whole lot!) deeper.

In the very first comment, JThomp42 said this: "Sodom and Gomorrah x 100" I am curious to know what he meant by this...... would he care to explain it?

Very sad and sorry state of affairs indeed Bill! Man has stooped to the depths of inhumanity. These acts are disgusting but seem to have become a way of life now. Have we become barbarians? Whether its on TV shows or in real life, these acts need to be condemned in the strongest of words.

Sharing this wonderful write on here, G+1 and fb.

Voted up and awesome!

It is a fabulous article and we all have to realize and feel the pain of all the depicted facts from our heart. Actually, we are very casual towards the harsh realities of our society and least bothered about the sufferings of others. It is indeed sad and I thank you for making the readers aware about such a sorry plight.

Loved it, sharing and pinning!

You have really touched a nerve with this one my friend... and it's something I have been saying for a long time now. Recently I came across a page on facebook that shows videos that are supposed to be funny... they are awful! People getting seriously hurt, I saw one where the person was lying on the ground after being hit and I seriously wondered if he was actually dead! People commenting on these videos all saying things like "LOL"...

This behaviour has been displayed by the human race throughout history, you mention the Romans, but go back to medieval times and in England people were burned alive, hung drawn and quartered, hands or ears cut off... all with a crowd to cheer the perpetrators on, in the name of "justice". We think we should have moved on from this by now? Well we haven't! What about Colonel Gaddafi... 6 months before he was brutally murdered on national TV, the Western world were shaking his hand. Then the tabloid press and media revelled in his death, with pictures and film, and everybody cheered... hooray! He deserved it! Really? ..... Is this the society we live in?

Like you, I don't own a TV. Reality shows aside, the concept of TV seems to be to hypnotise people, brain wash them, tell them what to think, what to find funny, and to believe the news which will tell you that one murder is "justice" and yet another murder is evil whilst treating the murderer like a celebrity. Why else do people commit these crimes if not to gain notoriety and to die remembered forever as an evil monster instead of dying a nobody?

And all the while, people go on shows like Jerry Springer, to be laughed and jeered at by the audience and the millions of people watching it on TV. Why? For their 15 minutes of fame? Society is sick my friend, but it always has been. Nothing appears to have been learnt throughout history and I wonder why. There are plenty of people that know this is all wrong, but there has to be a change. And it has to be drastic! Turn off the TV, don't watch the news, and don't teach history in schools. We all think history is important, we can learn from it, we all want to know where we came from. But it is a self perpetuating cycle... like the news, history focuses on all the bad events, and evil people, giving them the notoriety they always wanted, and others will grow up to be exactly like that. Change.... teach about the good people, the positive changes. Learn about the victims of crimes instead of the perpetrators, the people who suffer and die in wars instead of the "hero politicians" that caused them... The first step to cure a sickness is to recognise it is there...

A brilliant article Bill, votes and shares as always, and thanks for letting me have a rant! :-) Hugs and cyber-tea coming at ya from the riverbank in England.. all the best, Jen

Iv'e said it before Bill, how do you hit the nail on the head everytime. I remember the terrible Griffiths fight as well. Your insight is so precise as always. Have you revealed a secret, now we know how you manage to produce such a prodigious amount of excellent work. You don't a TV. I smile here I know but yet again you provide another excellent hub.

Voted up and all.

Graham.

These are truly troubling times we live in bb, but your hub is a reminder that we don't have to be a reflection of those times we can all choose to take action and be an instrument of change. Kudos to you for abandoning TV by the way, frees you to write all these wonderful hubs. Here's to a new era of compassion and love.

Unfortunately Bill its not just the US, as we have all this in the UK too. When did it become the first instinct that people have when confronted with violence on the street to film it on their phones so that they can have a popular YouTube video? Even during natural disasters people stand there and film it. Watching a documentary on the Japanese tsunami there were several poor people who just stood there filming instead of running away and saving their lives. Is this how we experience life now? Through a lens or on a screen?

But while young people are being deluged with violence, dysfunctional behaviour and abuse in films, TV programmes and video games, how can we expect them to learn to behave any differently? Humans learn by example, by copying behaviours and unless they get to see a gentler, more compassionate. more stable, disciplined scenario being played out around them, then they are never going to learn to be like that.

We are letting down our young people by not providing alternatives, but while we have MPs (Members of Parliament) here in the UK who think it is OK to take a month off their constituency and parliamentary work to be part of 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here', I don't think that we are going to get them any time soon

As you know I sincerely liked this article of yours which I expressed in my comment. Today, I am bothering you a bit. I want to know that how did you write the quotation by Dalai Lama in blue color? While I write in MS word I am able to get the blue color but when I copy and paste the same in HP then it again turns out to be black. I simply want to know how to get the blue color? Thanks in advance!

Thanks a lot for your reply, billybuc

I agree , things are a lot more nuts these days. I'm 53 years old, when I was younger you would never see any of what passes for TV shows now. And I could never watch boxing,either-

I certainly don't remember awful stuff like this when I was younger. On the bright side, I watch so little TV now I have time to read, write and indulge in other hobbies.

phoenix, that is so, so, positive! The silliness of so much rubbish on TV is driving me to do the same.

Would you believe I have not looked at international news, or read it, or heard it on radio, for over 7 weeks now? Heaven! And my not knowing has not disadvantaged me or the world one little bit.

@jonnycomelately: Yes I do believe you. I don't follow the news much anymore either. And I don't feel I've missed out. Turn out most of the 'news' is celebrity gossip and fluff anyway.

@billybuc: I'm 52 come February. And now that you mention it, the War was really the only darkness on TV.

Wishing you and yours a lovely Christmas.

You are so right. The fact that we love these "reality" shows really does say something about us.