Relative Something

How would you know if today was your only chance to make a split-second decision, like the ones in a television drama, that would make some critical difference in another person’s life? It seems to happen every hour on TV. Have you ever stopped to ponder how often it happens in real life?

I wonder if anyone who reads this will remember a time when there was no such word as “television.” Think about how many things in our everyday lives are described by words that have been created in our lifetimes. Words for things become accepted as universal with very little fanfare. Each year there is a little tidbit in the news that announces new words officially added to one dictionary or another.

I’m pretty sure that the day I was born, my parents never could have pictured the gadgets that I would be using by the time I was 50. I doubt my father or mother would have imagined that when my children were born I would be in the delivery room with Cyndie to cut the umbilical cord. Imagine what the differences will be in 50 years for someone born today.

It is interesting, from the perspective of the year 2010, to see the once outlandish visions of the future that were broadcast on television programs like, “Lost in Space” or “The Jetsons” and that have yet to be achieved. Compare them to some of the devices like cell phones or GPS navigators that seem like they are right out of a “Star Trek” episode.

The first time some movie about the concept of ‘reality TV’ was released (EDtv or The Truman Show), it seemed like such far-fetched ridiculousness that the movies were almost laughable. Reality has really lived up to that fiction, hasn’t it? The odd thing is, as producers continually push to capture the next crazy thing that really happens in the world, the content turns out to be so extremely outrageous it appears unbelievable. We figure they are making it up. We find reality hard to believe. In order to seem credible, they need to create fictional situations that aren’t so extreme, in order for audiences to accept them as plausible.

How is it that we are supposed to believe that characters on ‘reality’ programming aren’t actors? Any regular person who is not acting would notice and look toward a guy standing next to them holding a big video camera. I’m looking forward to the next program in this sequence.  One that focuses on the camera person who records activity for the ‘reality’ shows. We need a camera following around the camera person who follows the subjects of the ‘reality’ shows.

Watch out for your opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life today. This might be the day.