Duck Dynasty and the bacon bowl: We are what we eat and think

[caption id="attachment_21998" align="alignleft" width="300"] Bacon bowl[/caption]

Gordon Matilla---Experts tell us repeatedly that what we think about and what we put in our bodies impact for good or ill our mental and physical health.  Many spiritual leaders would also say it also affects our spiritual health.  But the Christmas conversation presently embraces the bacon bowl and Duck Dynasty, and one must wonder how these discussions, and our food choices, bring us to full realization of the holiday spirit and the message of Christ, whose birthday will be celebrated soon.

A frequent advertisement on television includes the bacon bowl.  The advertisement tells us we can use a cooking apparatus called the bacon bowl to make bacon that cooks just right.  Then we can load up the bowl, made of bacon with those great vegetables and other nutritious food items for the holiday and other times.  It also shows us that it can be used in so many ways that from breakfast through dinner, our meals will be tasty and good.

Bacon, however, is that red flag for cancer.  It also raises cholesterol levels.  Bacon is not only a processed food, but it is categorized as red meat.  Too much of it can kill you or at least raise the stakes when it comes to whether or not folks will live a long life, doctors say.  And the bacon bowl.  It has been news, for an article about it in the Huffington Post declares 'Bacon Bowl' May Be the Most Useless Gadget Yet.

Duck Dynasty is now the major discussion choice in much of social media, whether it's on Facebook or mainstream news.  This television show offers comedy at the lowest common denominator of entertainment, funny but often following the road down both in language content and values.  Yet it is upheld by viewers, especially recently, as a fun-loving, entertaining show that should be kept on the air in spite of its star comparing homosexual relationships with bestiality and worse along with comments that African Americans were happier as slaves than they are in present times.  We are what we think, as people uphold the First Amendment rights over hate messages children hear in association with the show's star, Phil Robertson, while extolling the entertainment value, when the values bring out the least in us and become what children learn.  It is what we think that helps create not just our present but our future, even as Fox News headlines maintain that A & E has "declared war on 'Duck Dynasty.'    And while it contains positive values about family and working hard, the show also focuses on hunting and sexist attitudes, reinforcing to the rest of the world that America is composed mainly of bearded backwoodsmen and wives who serve them, as opposed to the Father Knows Best model that worked as a family show but offered the fatherly role as a loving and supportive one instead with neatly dressed parents and well-behaved children.  When folks think about old-fashioned values, an old-fashioned show may have done it best.

Duck Dynasty Pawn Stars, Bad Girls Club, and the crime series that dominate television channels throughout most of the day offer very little in the way of upgrading culture, language and thought.  While entertaining, the focus is on the dress, mannerisms and style that reinforce the negative, even as some of the better values may also be embedded in the mix.  And some believe too much news is a negative also, making folks focus on fear and aggression as opposed to happy and cheerful events.   Indeed as experts tell us there is power in thought, so what we think, we become.

 

 

 

 

Political debates interrupt expanding provision of protection fordomestic abuse victims

I heard the woman crying across the hall in an apartment complex, watched her hurry through a doorway and down some stairs, her face filled with pain.  On another occasion, a woman stood at a bus stop, as a man, using the foulest language, drove by and cursed her.  Violence is a way of life for many people, both male and female, as organizations look for ways to end the pain and politicians debate over who should be protected under the law.

Domestic violence has been a hot button issue on both sides of the political aisle, although these days some folks associate abuse with women's rights restrictions as well.   There may be a ring of truth to that, as it was in those decades of the 50's we sometimes reflect on with nostalgia, when women often followed the husband's dictates, even to how she should vote.

These days domestic violence comes in many forms.  While it is often thought that the fist is the primary assault weapon, words offer tremendous pain as well.   Rap videos and songs often focus on the woman as an object to be ridiculed or used for sex.  Those are abusive elements in our culture that come through in many ways, including the "bad girl" television shows that accent girls pummeling each other, fighting over fellows or just fighting to be the "baddest."

The scars of abuse come in many forms.  While we may think of the abused person with the black eye or the torn garments, it is often the more subtle signs experts tell us must be looked at as a sign that someone is being victimized.  Often the victim of abuse has serious problems with self-esteem and avoids conflict in order to protect himself or herself from further abuse.  Isolation is another characteristic of the abused; friends and family are left behind as the victim lives a type of closeted lifestyle that keeps out those folks who could help.

With the discussions recently on the rights of women and gays, Democrats and Republicans were torn over the expansion of the Violence Against Women Act.  Republicans were opposed to expanding the bill to include gays and lesbians, immigrants and tribal communities.  Although most Senate Republicans voted against the expansion, enough were in favor of it to allow the bill to be passed in the Senate.   Presently the  House is debating the bill, with Republicans putting forth their own version of the bill to eliminate protections for immigrants, tribal members and same-sex couples.  The Republican version of the bill takes away the confidentiality protections for immigrant women as well.   Folks are concerned that a bipartisan bill in the Senate is turning into a major political battle over the issues of immigration and same-sex relationships, specifically with regard to expansion of protection to these groups.  It also removes the ability of people to keep confidential their report of abuse.

The issue of domestic violence remains a controversial one, with most folks agreeing that a man should not hit a woman nor a woman hit a man, but the definition of abuse, what type of relationships might be included and whether folks should open themselves up to retaliation from the abuser after reporting a dispute remains a political debate.  And this hits many people particularly hard.