New Year’s Eve I was mostly alone flipping channels to watch the ball drop in Times Square. I started with Fox News and they were playing the stupid anthem of secular humanism “Imagine”. I suppose it was blaring through Times Square at the time. “Imagine there is no Heaven…and no religion too…” Lennon’s nihilistic ‘Imagine’ is indeed the anthem of our time, and that’s a problem.
So I scratched Fox.
I defaulted to the late (and great) Dick Clark’s ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” thinking that maybe I could just hang with some contemporary music. Fox doubled down after “Imagine” with Pat Benatar crooning the two decade old “Love is a Battlefield” – nothing says “Happy New Year” like a runway teen dancing in a seedy club. Not really New Year’s Eve musical fare.
I flipped to the “Rockin’ Eve party was co-hosted by former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy; who lacking any other marketable ability; repeatedly threatened to make out with random people. Awesome. The forty something playmate closed the deal by simulating fornication with a Justin Bieber life size cut out. For those that do not follow pop culture, Bieber is less than half her age.
At this point I just wanted a shower and silently thanked God that my wife and children were off to see the Seneca Falls Ball drop locally AND my 75 year old evangelical Mother in Law was snoring quietly in her lounge chair; well past her normal bed time.
As a last resort, I went to CNN “the most trusted name in news” to see the ball drop in Times Square with a touch of dignity. Surely CNN would cover this perennial news event handily. Come on, it is just a ball drop at midnight.
CNN was hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. Cooper is a pretty solid fellow in my estimation. He seems serious and largely fair. He is also same sex attracted but this aspect of his life is not really apparent to me in his role on CNN. I did not know anything about Griffin at all but she seemed loud and obnoxious. What happened just before and after the ball dropped is really not fit to be repeated here. It was a new low, an all time low in journalism and I would immediately fire Griffin and suspend Cooper (who was victimized but still should have pushed her away and walked off).
No link to CNN will be provided – the actions were beyond the pale and unconscionable for persons of any dignity.
I turned back to Fox just in time to see Mayor Bloomberg with his face covered with the “lip prints” of the Rockettes who helped him drop the ball. Never knew him to be such a babe magnet.
What a night.
We are entering a very dangerous cultural era because it is impossible for a democratic republic to survive without God and His Church. The time is ripe for the New Evangelization; I doubt that many were offended by the coverage of New Year’s Eve. There is no offense because there are no standards. Forty year old strippers (who apparently are yet to change their stripes) are granted prime spots on national TV. Two pubic acts of fornication stand without shame or correction.
God have mercy on us. Our standards are “whatever” and slipping fast. Maybe I should just go to bed earlier.
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I agree. And cable TV is a minefield. Scantily dressed women. Explicit sexual activity. I only watch things like Food TV but even there, some celebs think they need to give air conditioning to their frontal anatomy.
So I watch the history channel and mundane things on the discovery channel and an occasional sporting event.
Hi Daniel,
I just heard about the Anderson Cooper incident. Oh, my. Our culture is on life-support right now. I am increasingly convinced that until we address the serious cultural issues in our society, we can expect our society to continue its demise. I heard a survey result that said more than half of Americans polled believe our country’s best days are behind us. I fear they are right and a big reason is because of our debased media, entertainment and pop cultures.
Jim M. here: I too watched the Fox News channel at midnight, because, I have seen and have respect for Megan Kelly and Bill Hemmer, who anchor Fox News during the day. There were some seedy characters later on, so I was a little surprised as well. A lot of kissing, but I guess that’s all part of New Year’s Eve. Guess next year, I’ll watch the ball drop, and turn to a movie or something else.
As you enter Quebec from Ontario, there is a large billboard posted near the highway (401). It says that “television is the syringe which injects violence into our children”. Most of the programs from our media are subtle sewage.