THE DAILY DRIVEL DUMP

Back in the day, they called TV sets, "The Idiot Box." They should see it now. It has become pure, unadulterated drivel, especially the daytime variety of TV. Take for example a program called, "The Wendy Williams Show." Her audience is primarily women, but all women everywhere should be insulted by the fare offered. 

Here's a summary of what a segment of her program, offered under the daily title of "Hot Topics," on July 19, 2018:

1. How Wendy Williams celebrated her birthday with a gala dinner.
2. The marriage of Stevie J and Faith Evans. The two had a surprise, quickie wedding in Las Vegas, and were married by a Cher impersonator.
3. Stevie J’s million-dollar back child support
4. Leslie Jones and Jessica Alba’s feud
5. Bethenny Frankel’s custody and legal issues with her ex-husband, Jason Hoppy
6. Joel McHale discussed his new Netflix show.

Wait. What? Those people mentioned above--are important to us? Why? Who are they? Even if you've heard of them, does what they say or do have any ounce of impact on your life?

The elite of our culture bemoan the demeaning of women, then they do exactly that with what they put on TV. It's been this way for a while. Back in 1999, daytime TV viewers were treated to "out-of-control teens shrieking at their parents on “Maury” and “Jenny Jones.” Lovers confronted their cheating mates on “Montel Williams.” On “Jerry Springer,” a man admitted to cheating on his girlfriend. Later, a livid Judge Joe Brown threw the book at a man who confessed he didn’t lift a finger to help his ex-wife pay for the funeral of their 21-year-old son." (Examples from "The New York Post")

Jerry Springer, former mayor of Cincinnati, was a pioneer in dumping trash into American living rooms. The studio audience made up of men and women chanted, applauded, and cheered as the show paraded a plethora of perversity across the stage--while on stage, people screamed at each other, argued, brawled, and bellowed in front of the American public, a public that didn't know it was all choreographed; the on-stage brawls were planned beforehand and built into the program's daily drivel dumping.The hair-pulling and fist-jabbing were earlier decreed to occur and the combatants were told when and how much time would be devoted to the pugilism. It was as rigged as a professional wrestling event.

Is all this by accident or is something more going on? History says that more is going on.

Maybe Roman history can help us when we look at the plebeians in 1st century Rome. "Plebeians were average working citizens of Rome – farmers, bakers, builders or craftsmen – who worked hard to support their families and pay their taxes. Over the course of this period, early forms of public welfare were established by Titus and Trajan, and, in difficult times, plebeians could ask Roman administrators for help.

"The individual plebeians had little power, there were a lot of them. In bad times, or during political unrest, there was always the risk of the Roman ‘mob’ rioting or rebelling against the upper classes.

"The Emperor Augustus was well aware of this risk and was keen to keep the poorest plebeians happy enough and reasonably well fed so that they would not riot. He began the system of state bribery that the writer, observer Juvenal described as ‘bread and circuses’.

"Free grain and controlled food prices meant that plebeians could not starve, while free entertainment – such as chariot races and gladiators in amphitheaters and the Circus Maximus – meant that they wouldn't get bored and restless. Bribery it may have been, but it often worked."

With the plebs fed and entertained by the mindless blood sports and chariot races, the Romans didn't notice (or care) that their society was falling apart, nor did they notice that Augustus had kept the trappings of the old republic, but their beloved republic was gone. The Empire had come, along with the powers of an emperor.

The human race is easily distracted from the vital questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What's my purpose? While they were at the foot of the cross of the Son of God, the most momentous event in human history, what captivated the attention of the Roman soldiers? A dice game for His clothes.