Who is the Sexiest Man Alive

Why is Tom Cruise the sexiest man alive?  Brad Pitt?  Hugh Jackman?  Who will be the next icon baring their flexed pecs, glancing downward, revealing that carefully calculated innocent smile.  Is it bad that millions salivate, flipping through glossy pages?

Who will be the next girl on the cover of Playboy?  Who will have the centerfold?  Who will be the next girl to rock the pages of MAXIM?  We yearn for that good skin, air-brushed to perfection, those solid abs fortifying the thin waist, and the bosom – yes, the bosom.  When she’s smiling from the pages, she’s smiling at me.

Line the little girls up.  Have them start practicing now.  It’s Pageant time, and Donald Trump does not want to be disappointed.  Shoulders back, chest out, big smile, wave.  That’s right.

It’s important to teach your kids right.  Don’t listen to the philosophers and deep thinkers.  Surface level beauty IS important.  The philosophers all have bad skin and bad teeth, that’s why they don’t leave their rooms.  That’s why they have all that time to think.  That’s why they think internal beauty is more important than external beauty.  They have no external beauty.

If you want your child to excel, if you want them to be respected, then they will have to be beautiful on the outside.

But you are teaching them, aren’t you…

From an early age you are shaping your child’s view of the world.  A trophy is like a biscuit to a dog.  Acceptance.  Recognition.  A pat on the head is a pat on the head.  What behavior is rewarded?  What clothing makes it to the front page of Seventeen?  What should your child be concerned about before heading out the front door?  Who and what do the parents hold up on a pedestal?

It would be nice if we could believe that what we are given as children are the tools to think independently, to deconstruct and draw conclusions, but we are not.  We inherit beliefs.  Like the wolf in the pack, we mimic to survive.  We see the adults in our lives as the alpha dogs, the heroes worthy of our emulation… and what is it that they believe?

As you set your daughter up on stage to compete in that beauty pageant, you are teaching her a life lesson.  As you drool over Hugh Jackman’s naked chest, you are illustrating for her what she should be looking for in a man.  As you go in debt to have that BMW, you are teaching her priorities.

That’s okay.  I’m taking things way out of context.  There’s more to you than that, but I wasn’t entirely talking about you.  I was talking about the TV you keep sitting her in front of.  Is the television a reflection of our culture or will we become a reflection of what is on the television?

If the television is a reflection in any way, then our culture is on constant turns downward, as shows like America’s Top Model finds an audience.  Yes, I’ve watched the show and I’ve seen the dozen or so insecure girls compete for acceptance from a not so bright panel of judges.  The girls reveal themselves as not so bright as well, and very insecure.  For the most part they also reflect a complete lack of ethics or self control.  Then, it’s time to shoot.  The girls step into their costumes and step into the soft lights and smile and the still photograph captures an image that presents them with a glow and sense of confidence that we never saw – even during the shoot.

I can no longer look at an ad without thinking, “That girl is a bad insecure b----.”

Instead of just falsely capturing it in a photo, why not teach self confidence?  Why not teach your children to take care of themselves?  Why not teach them that good health is the goal, and being attractive is the fringe benefit, instead of teaching them that the gym and the diet is only a means to physical acceptance?

How big would the Miss USA Pageant be if it was focused on critical thinking rather than the bikini strut?  Hey, I like the bikini strut, but I laugh at most of these girls for being bimbos when they are being interviewed, forgetting that there are thousands and thousands of younger girls all over the country saying, “I want to be her!”  Lets not call it the Miss USA Pageant.  Let’s call it, “The Dumb Girl Who Has a Really Nice Ass Pageant,” and then I can enjoy the bikini strut without feeling guilty.

And how about American Idle?  A show about who can imitate a Pop Star?  Great, you’d be an excellent front man in a cover band.  Now we’ll have another puppet who will have someone else write their songs, someone dress them, send them on tour, and tell them what to say, meanwhile we go crazy in their presence.  Over their brilliance?  They are a product like a can of soup that is being sold to us.

American Idol.  American, that part is self explanatory.  It denotes who they are an idol for, but idol?  What is an idol?  Why would we as Americans idolize an unoriginal front man in a cover band?  Why is that our idol?  I’m not taking it too literally when there are millions of viewers, and thousands of people who traveled from all over the country to catch a glimpse of them when they perform on the Today Show.

If we called it the American Putz would it receive the same viewership?  If it was a show where they had to write their own songs, and part of the judging was based on the quality of the lyrics, or the complexity of the arrangements, would anyone watch the show?

When I watch commercials, I think, “This is what they must think of me if they think this ad will work.”  Well, it does work so they must be right!

“Friends” was a top show for how many years?  I’ve seen a few episodes.  Do we even have to do a critical analysis of that? 

This mass of technology hasn’t made us smarter; it has given us more distractions.  Our educational systems are floundering.  Our sense of ethics is upside down as are our priorities.  As a culture we need to demand more instead of passively accepting the garbage put before us.  Our children need to learn to think critically, instead of just learning to speak so they can find the bathroom.  What separates us from animals is our ability to reason, and more and more that seems like a unique gift for a very small percentage of the population.

Don’t accept the best of the garbage laid before you.  You have a voice.  Call the station, write a letter.  Teach your children that quality is better.  If you want to see a dumb girl in a bikini, call it what it is.