Lesson Learned

This past weekend I spent an unusual amount of time watching TV with Genius Golfer. The weather was yucky, and I had no motivation to get much of anything done around the house. He was watching a marathon of the show "Hoarders" and, quite frankly, it was like the proverbial train wreck: I couldn't stop watching it.


I had never seen this show before. I had heard there was such a show but couldn't figure out why. It is on The Learning Channel--which, once upon a time, broadcast shows where I could learn something. Now the network seems to have become the "Side Show Freak" channel. They have a ton of crazy shows on there, at least what I could tell from their extensive advertisements and self-promoting commercials.

Anyway, this Hoarders show was not only heart breaking and voyeuristic but also more than a little disturbing to me. There was contention in every house they showed. The hoarder is mentally ill, to be sure, and the family is typically dysfunctional and certainly at their wit's end. But there seemed to be a high level of agitation and contention that came through the TV and seemed to settle into our home as well. That made me really uncomfortable.

For anyone who says "Its only TV; it does really affect me," I say, "You are wrong". That kind of influence shouldn't be seen as entertainment. It is as sad to me as the ill-treated "circus freaks" of yesteryear like The Elephant Man or the Bearded Woman. There is something to be understood in each of these people, and poking fun at them for entertainment doesn't seem, to me at least, any way to aid or assist them to be well.

Yet, there I sat with GG watching a handful of episodes throughout the afternoon. I couldn't look away from it, yet I could feel the spirit dissipating from our home as I did. Another opportunity for me to know better, then to do better, I suppose.

After watching this, I felt bad for those who suffer with this debilitating disorder. I felt sorry for their families. But I felt really bad for my own family. We had wasted a couple of hours doing nothing t lift up our family members, or help each other, or interact with one another, or even make memories that were worthwhile. Realizing this, I'm not sure who, really, was in worse shape.

Actually, maybe it really is The Learning Channel after all. I did learn that I can't find anything lovely, uplifting, of good report, or praiseworthy in that show. We should have pulled out a board game and played as a family instead. At least that would have built some family unity and made memories.