Going against the grain
Of the following three pictures, which one would you call “out of the ordinary”?
Family man, Freestyle Skier, Gold Medalist — Olympian David Wise is all three. As one might expect, he made headlines for bringing home a gold. Now he’s gaining even more media publicity for leading an alternative lifestyle — i.e., being a 23 year old husband and father.
Seriously. Desert News went so far as to report: “David Wise’s alternative lifestyle leads to Olympic gold.” Reporter Molly Hemingway observes:
“Isn’t it fascinating that NBC views a man taking care of his wife and daughter as an alternative lifestyle? If this is any indication of media views on normalcy, our society is pretty much doomed.”
I’m not sure whether I agree. Certainly, I don’t always agree with the types of things mainstream media consider normal. I actually can’t think of a time when I ever did. Does that mean NBC News’ take on normalcy causes me to become fatalistic about the direction of society? I don’t think so.
Just because NBC has the power to broadcast its narrative to millions and millions of people doesn’t mean their opinions reflect the way the rest of the world sees things, let alone, how things actually are. I think most people recognize that. Or is it just me?
Whatever the case may be, it does not matter how odd NBC views a dad who really cares about his family. I have to applaud David Wise for being who he is and for bringing home the gold for America and his family.
To all you fathers and mothers out there, young or seasoned, here’s to you. You do go against the grain sometimes. You struggle and suffer for what you have to give to your family. Your lifestyle deserves to be recognized and appreciated, and whether or not society or the MSM consider your lives ordinary, I believe you do deserve a medal for what you do!
Biltrix 
Amazing that “to care for ones wife and family” is considered, by some to be odd and an alternative lifestyle! Soon it will be considered odd to breathe air without an O2 tank! What have we become???
It is a sad sign. Our culture has lost a lot of its core values. It’s a good sign, though, to see how a lot of people react to the way these sorts of things are reported in the news.
Sometimes it can seem like we’re the martians, that society often looks on us as the oddballs. Of course, we should never see ourselves that way. Objectively speaking, we are swimming against the current. And if you look around, there are a lot of us swimming against the current. When you look at it from that perspective, there’s a lot of gratification that can be taken from that, because there is tried and tested virtue in it. And besides, it’s in the salmon’s nature to swim against the current, because that is how their species survives and thrives.
We’ve become the salmon in the world. We are rugged and true fighters. Have spirit and take pride in that!
God bless you and thanks for your comment.
The world change now and I agree that the mens to helps the women if they´s to can no problem.I to approve.
Blessings.
Thanks for your comment, Ana Cecilia. There are many heroic examples in the ordinary people among us. It is a blessing when we see them for who they really are. God bless you!
Your post read almost tongue-in-cheek, but I can’t take this lightly because of the tremendous formative power that image and television have. The brainwashing potential. In general, the most susceptible generation wants to conform totally, fears standing out or being different . . . and will follow along. Maybe I am too pessimistic, but I see it everywhere, beginning with baby’s board books . . . It is hard to combat directly, but we CAN grab the sentiment of this ridiculous assertion of what is alternative, run with it, and make it a matter of pride to swim against the tide and stand up for ourselves. The salmon metaphor is just perfect.
I did not intend for it to come across tongue-in-cheek, but maybe that’s the way I present things, sometimes. I look at it this way. You are totally right. The media have a tremendous influence on the way people view things. Still, I find if funny — and I even laugh — that there are certain things they say which show they just don’t get it. I wonder what world they live in sometimes. It’s not the real world. Not the world you and I live in.
I too see what you are talking about everywhere in the world around me. But I also see, every day, the lives of normal people just being normal, not letting the secular tide affect them. Of course, it does affect all of us in some ways. But solid men and women of Christian conviction don’t let it sway them to conform with the secularist mentality.
Normal is still normal, even if it isn’t the norm that the entertainment and advertising industries flash in our faces 24/7. I want to encourage people to see that: the good of what they are living and the good it brings to the lives of others, even if we don’t always see the immediate effects, is worth every effort it takes. Our efforts have value here on earth and in God’s eyes. Ultimately, that’s what matters. So I had to focus more on applauding this man than on deriding some dimwitted commentator who can’t relate to people who live normal lives.
MSNBC shows have become the standard bearers of everything not normal presenting that the Hollywood agenda is normal.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Carl.
We are on the other side of the looking glass, but thankfully, I still have my ruby slippers. Oops. Mixing tales and metaphors,
There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! — Is it working? — There’s no place like home….
What joy!His daughter will look to him as her protector/provider .Obviously,His wife promotes this attitude in their daughter leading to great family unity & fulfilling the complimentary roles of mo m & dad.
It is beautiful, in deed, Madeline, the Christian family members witness faithfully to one another and to society as a whole. Our Church’s social doctrine teaches that the family is the first unity of society and a society in itself. When family members love and respect each other according to their roles within the family it is a beautiful testimony to the rest of society. Thanks for your comment and God bless!
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Consider this expression: the corporate mass media. Why would I use that expression?
What is a corporation? A corporation is a government creation. Unfortunately, in this era of big government, corporations no longer serve the same purpose they once had. In past, governments authorized corporations so that private citizens would have the legal means to amass capital for business projects. Now, with so much regulation and so many tax “incentives” corporations have become instruments of government policy. In fact, their survival often depends upon incestuous relationships with government officials.
So why does the corporate mass media twist and spin the news the way it does? Perhaps what is more amazing is that the news media retains any objectivity whatsoever.
There’s a lot of truth to this, Citizen Tom. It makes me wonder, how many steps away until we call it “government mass media.” We know that’s how it is in some parts of the world; but of course, that could never happen here…
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