Reality show culture takes over.
.This morning ABC interrupted regular programming to air Tiger Wood's live press conference offering apologies and explanations for personal misbehavior which made national news last November. Tiger joins the ranks of repentant presidents, televangelists, politicians and other celebrities who go on TV to confess their sins and celebrate their repentance in the hopes of saving reputation, family and career. "I am deeply sorry..."
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This is none of our business - especially as far as Woods' private life is concerned. After all, he's just a golf pro - who cares? But I suppose if he wants to hang on to millions of dollars earned from endorsements, the poor guy has to do something. I'm not questioning the sincerity of his contrition - I'm just saying I consider this type of public penance to be ridiculous - and the commentary and analysis by journalists to be even more pathetic.
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BTW - Prosperity gospel, faith healer, televangelist Benny Hinn's wife filed for divorce. I know!
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Photo: Benny Hinn allegory - Source
"Public penance" IS ridiculous. And yet, when it doesn't happen, the bloodthirtsy packs of self-appointed masters of morality clamor for it.
ReplyDeleteIt's lose/lose when we can't keep our eyes on our own lives.
Terry: I agree.
ReplyDeleteFrom the fall of Jim/Tammy Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, and any number of celebrities, I have often thanked the Lord for the Sacrament of Penance and the real amendment of life that means asking forgiveness personally for those we have wronged and not on live television.
We live in an Oprah/Jerry Springer/Maury kinda world where instead of dealing with things person to person, the whole mess is televised for the whole world to see.
I heard this on the radio while I was doing errands this morning.
Ridiculous and pathetic is right.
Only confirms the need for and the mercy of auricular confession to a priest.
I know I need this; very much.
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteDidn't King Henry II do a very public sort of penance after the murder of St. Thomas Becket? The main difference, of course, was that it wasn't for show, and even those who got to watch it knew that it was more than just entertainment.
But try explaining that to the generation that developed Reality TV, which seems to think it is entitled to anything that can be loosely classified as entertainment.
I guess we can pray for Mr. Woods to become Catholic and avail himself of the true Confessional.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me how the
ReplyDelete1970's have changed how we speak to one another.
We went from - "we don't talk about those kind of things" to "We can talk about anything we want and whenever we feel like it" and it's no matter if it's private, sick , inapproiate, or filled with lies.
The wicked and snarky remarks from the folks over on youtube are shocking and without remorse or shame.
If you really are who you are in private and the computer has become an extintion of that- of us.
I understand then why religious need to be on the internet but I worry about them.