The Grass is Not Greener . . . Not Even in Hollywood

Americans treat celebrities like royalty, imagining their lives as modern-day fairy tales. The glitz and glamour, fame and fortune blind us to the sadness that marks the lives of many public figures. Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson’s recent horrific tragedy is just the latest example.

· In 1992 current Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden lost his wife and his baby daughter in a car accident.

· In 1995 Carroll O’ Connor’s son Hugh committed suicide by gun shot. Hugh called his father moments earlier to warn O’ Connor that he could not handle his drug problem any longer.

· In 1997 Bill Cosby’s son Ennis was murdered while changing a tire. A robber pulled up alongside of Ennis, demanded money, and then shot him when the money wasn’t produced quickly enough.

· Last month Tampa Bay Buccaneers place-kicker Matt Bryant and his wife entered their three-month-old son’s bedroom only to discover that he had died in his sleep.

Suffering is not limited to us peasants. Pain does not distinguish between bank accounts, nor does it care about entourage sizes or red-carpet invites. Pain is an equal opportunity provider. We refuse to believe this because envy is among the most tempting of human emotions. It is not a coincidence that envy is one of the seven deadly sins, nor is it an accident that two of the 10 commandments address coveting.

During difficult periods in our life (economic hardship, illness, etc . . .) it is only natural to respond reflexively with anxiety, hopelessness, and resentment. But maybe next time after our initial emotional release we will remember that “there is always someone out there worse off than you”.

And they may even be a celebrity.

Donald Tremblay

You Didn’t Hear This From Me, But . . . Merry Christmas

Well, it’s that time of the year again: time for Christ-phobes to complain about Christmas celebrations in public places. Once again we must endure weeks of whining about how seeing a Nativity scene and hearing the words “Merry Christmas” creates an exclusionary, hostile environment that leaves non-Christians feeling threatened. 2008’s first incidence of Christ-phobia takes place in Long Island, NY in the town of Patchogue.

On Nov 23 the town will hold its 15^th annual boat parade along the Patchogue River. Last year the name of the parade was the Patchogue Christmas Boat Parade. This year the name has been changed to the Patchogue Holiday Boat Parade because of “complaints that the use of ‘Christmas’ seemed to make the parade less inclusive.” (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfA-XFWFSZjLAt-oIzxwehAhx4xgD9409U000) Organizers tried to justify the change by arguing that “the parade has had several names over its roughly 15-year existence”, but one group who rejected that explanation is the Grucci fireworks company. Last year Grucci donated $5,000 of fireworks to the parade. This year the parade will get zilch:

“The company's vice president, Philip Butler, who has criticized the secularization of Christmas in the past, said parade organizers were ‘using all the themes of Christmas and plagiarizing all those themes.’"

Bravo to Grucci. Not only should Patchogue Christians boycott the parade, but they should spend that evening decorating their property with as many Nativity displays and “Merry Christmas” signs as they can fit.

Merry Christmas . . . and get ready for a ridiculous two months.

Donald Tremblay

Persecuted and Forgotten

The charity group Aid to the Church in Need has released "Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2007/8." (www.acn.org.uk/shop/reports/BPAF08_All.pdf) www.acn.org.uk/shop/reports/BPAF08_All.pdf) How bad is the persecution? Neville Kyrke-Smith, the United Kingdom’s director of Aid to the Church in Need, is quoted by Zenit news agency stating the following:

"What the [report summary] demonstrates is that Christians are the most persecuted group in the world today," he said. "People are aware of an enormous number of human rights abuses throughout the globe, but they are not always aware of the denial of human rights to millions of Christians.”

Donald

It’s Just Business

Apparently there is an ethical code I am unaware of that allows people to act differently when conducting business than when they deal with people personally. It is okay to screw people, violate values, etc . . . because “it’s just business”. The bottom line is all that matters so morality has no place in business. Just ask those brokers who dabbled in derivatives and swaps, risking investors’ life savings for the chance to earn that ridiculous year-end bonus. Truly, greed makes people do strange things.

The Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ and the Quality Inn in Maple Shade, NJ are offering discounts to women who stay with them after receiving abortions at local abortion facilities. (http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=30184&wf=rsscol).
“Based on reports from local citizens participating in the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil outside the Cherry Hill Women's Center, New Jersey Right to Life has confirmed that the Clarion Hotel in Cherry Hill offers a reduced rate of $59 for a room originally priced at $109 to those women who provide a receipt from the abortion mill that says they have to stay overnight. In addition, the Quality Inn in Maple Shade offers a discounted rate of $74.95 for a room originally priced at $99.99 and a free breakfast of eggs and pancakes for women who present a stamped pamphlet from the clinic.”

The Cherry Hill Women’s Center allegedly “performs abortions up to the sixth month of pregnancy” and is accused by Marie Tasy, Executive Director of New Jersey Right to Life, of having “a track record of aggressive advertisement in the Pennsylvania market to intentionally lure pregnant minor girls to the NJ abortion clinic in order to evade Pennsylvania's parental consent laws.”

Although this is just a guess, chances are both hotels are experiencing high vacancies and are looking at this as a gimmick to lure more guests. Some would say this advertising ploy is tasteless.
No, it’s just business.

Donald Tremblay

At Risk

An alarming report was released by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Suicide rates in the U.S. have risen 0.7% since 1999, driven by the most unlikely of demographics: middle-aged white women between the ages of 40-64. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081021/us_nm/us_suicide_usa/print) The rate of suicide among middle-aged women rose 3.9% between 1999-2005, and according to Susan Baker, a professor in injury prevention with a special expertise in suicide, “’The biggest increase that we have seen . . . was the increase in poisoning suicide in women -- that went up by 57 percent.’”’ The suicide numbers were obtained from death certificates provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers are at a loss to explain the rise, since those historically at highest-risk for suicide are “teens and young adults of both genders as well as elderly white men.”

What could account for the change?

· Is this an unintended consequence of the rising divorce rate? Are we witnessing greater numbers of women suffering from depression because they are without a spouse or a companion? Perhaps the increased responsibilities single mothers are burdened with are taking their toll.

· Or maybe the rising suicide rate is a consequence of more women entering the workplace. Working a full-time job and then coming home to a family and the pressures of motherhood might be too much of a strain. After all it is like working two full-time jobs. Some women have no choice but to work because of financial considerations. Other women work because they want a career while they raise a family. Regardless of the reason for working, perhaps the stress is too much.

Let’s hope more research is done to find answers. Women aged 40-64 are the bedrock of our society. I’d hate to see what this world would look like without them.

Donald Tremblay

P.T. Barnum

P.T. Barnum was right: there is a sucker born every minute. And this past weekend many of them could be found at the Newlife Expo in the New Yorker Hotel. New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly described some of the “services” offered to attendees:
“The expo is a veritable convention of charlatans, including numerous purveyors of healing stones and anti-aging elixirs, as well as an ‘aura photographer,’ a celebrity pet psychic, and a ‘light doctor’ selling instant transportation to an all-healing ‘lightship.’ (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/columnists/daly/index.html)

This is an ideal time to ply a pagan trade since a growing number of Americans are embracing New Age religions. Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca claims that “Wicca is America’s fastest growing religion. By the year 2012, it’s projected to be the third largest religion in the United States.” (http://www.zimbio.com/Wicca/articles/36/America+fastest+growing+religion+Wicca+Welcome)

But what is it about these occultic practices that attract people?

Secret knowledge.

What we are witnessing is the return of Gnosticism—a general term used to explain the centuries-old heresy committed by numerous sects that emphasized “secret and pseudo-mystical knowledge.” (The Fathers of the Church, Expanded Edition - Mike Aquilina, Our Sunday Visitor, 2006, p 42) It is this “secret knowledge” that NewLife Expo demonstrators and New Age religions like Wicca claim to possess. Want holistic health? Use these healing stones or allow someone to massage your aura. Want to live forever? Talk to the reps at People Unlimited whose literature states, “’Physical immortality now! Fee $150.’" (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/columnists/daly/index.html).

Gnosticism has existed since biblical times. In fact, according to The Fathers of the Church (cited above), 1 Tim 6: 20-21 is a warning “against emerging Christian Gnosticism” (p 25). St. Paul Instructs Timothy to “keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called. Which some promising, have erred concerning the faith.”

There is no secret knowledge. Christ is God made Man, and thus the ultimate revelation: “No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day . . . Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father.” (John 6: 44, 46)
So do yourself a favor. If someone offers you secret knowledge about God, imitate Lot by walking away and not looking back.

Donald Tremblay

Me, Me, Me

The Entertainment & Culture section of today’s Wall Street Journal features an article from columnist Dorothy Rabinowitz entitled, “The Other Letterman Show”. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122420423963143201.html) The topic of the piece is talk-show arrogance . . . which there is no shortage of in today’s mass media.

The majority of the article focuses on David Letterman’s vindictive response to John McCain’s last-minute cancelation of his scheduled Sept 24 appearance on “The Late Show”. Apparently Letterman’s ire was further stoked when he discovered that, conversely, McCain honored a scheduled appearance for that same day with Katie Couric. Here’s a snippet of Rabinowitz’s commentary:

“In the course of his complaints, Mr. Letterman lurched from fury to fervent wonder at John McCain's wartime heroism, to jibes that somebody had been putting something in the candidate's Metamucil -- a joke consistent with the Letterman show's now standard brand of comedy. It was impossible, needless to say, to mistake any of this for joking -- nothing in Mr. Letterman's tireless emissions on the subject spoke for anything but his rage.”

Arrogance is virtually a prerequisite in Hollywood, so Letterman’s response was typical. Rabinowitz relates how Arthur Godfrey attempted to bury young singer Julius LaRosa in the early 1950s because LaRosa—a regular on Godfrey’s popular variety show—had the audacity to hire his own agent: “Godfrey informed the audience that they had just heard LaRosa's swan song. In response to the tide of public hostility that followed, Godfrey announced that the problem was that the singer had ‘lost his humility.’”

Don Imus is also mentioned in the piece. Prior to his eating crow for calling the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hoes”, Imus had a reputation for personally attacking anyone who disagreed with him: “Over a decade ago, one of the most legendary names in broadcasting told me of the dangers of making any public criticism of Imus. ‘He'll never stop,’ he warned. ‘He'll go on and on, to attack every day. He won't care what he says.’”

Amusingly, it’s not uncommon to have a clash of egos among co-hosts themselves. Chris Matthews and former ESPN Sportscenter anchor Keith Olbermann—perhaps the king of blowhards—were both bumped from their MSNBC presidential election anchor chairs because of their rabid anti-conservative views and their personal animosity toward each other. So ridiculous had their spats become that former MSNBC anchor Connie Chung slammed both in the Wall Street Journal stating, “My reaction to that is: 'Grow up!' They have to just grow up." (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121989105850778775.html?mod=blog) In a laughable example of delusional self-importance, Olbermann allegedly demanded that the network provide him with bodyguards since he feared his life was in danger. Sorry, Keith, but the only protection you need is protection from yourself.

Lest anyone think talk-show arrogance and clashes of egos are solely a male phenomenon, let’s not ignore The View: a talk show dominated by four self-absorbed women who argue amongst themselves daily and who “view” the program as their personal soapbox from which to pontificate. It’s no wonder the show has replaced its hosts as often as the New York Yankees replaced managers in the 1980s.

Truthfully, it doesn’t matter who the host is or the genre of the talk show. Once a personality starts believing his/her own press clippings—watch out. Magically it becomes their world and the rest of humanity is merely permitted to live in it.

Donald Tremblay