Of "Dogs" and Teacher's Pets

Recently two news items caught my eye that seem another example of foolishness gone amok in our world.

The first is the case of Duane "Dog" Chapman, the now infamous bounty hunter made famous by a reality show on TV. I have been a bit of a fan of the show, despite it's quirky nature and the rather extreme appearance of members of the Chapman family. However the newly revealed and over-covered racist tirade of the "Dog" himself have served to prove once more that reality shows are never as real as real life.

The second is the latest in a seeming epidemic of episodes of forbidden love. This is the case of Kelsey Peterson and Fernando Rodriguez. If you just thought "who?", you can be forgiven. While the story of the hard words of a TV celeb have been covered to death, this one is a bit harder to see. According to the AP, Kelsey Peterson is"a 25-year-old sixth grade math teacher and basketball coach at Lexington Middle School" in Lexington, NE. She is suspected of having an intimate relationship with student Rodriguez, a 13-year-old at the Middle School. The two fled from Nebraska after investigators found messages of an intimate nature on the teacher's laptop and in letters written by the student. They were apprehended by Mexican authorities Friday evening after crossing into Mexicali, Mexico. The teacher was arrested and the boy released to relatives in Mexico.

Both of these are cases of betrayed trust and very foolish behavior. In the case of "Dog's" racism, the people who perhaps looked up to Chapman now have one less person to exalt and emulate. The damage in that situation will primarily be visited upon the Chapman family. It is sad and tragic, but perhaps worse will be the commentaries in future days and weeks that will take this as symptomatic that white American society is racist to the core. The combination of a celebrity and racist remarks will provide fuel to both outright racists (which pitifully still exist in far too many numbers) and to those race hustlers, i.e. the Sharpton crowd, who only assume significance proportionate to the existence of both phony and real racism.

The case of the teacher and her student/lover portends of a more serious trend that seems to be increasing. Our society is sexualized to an extreme level. One could easily claim that our modern culture has moved beyond being sex-obsessed to being near sex-addicted. At all levels and in every area, from the government to church to music to TV and movies and, as in this case, the educational system, sex scandals are becoming more commonplace. The "sexual revolution" of some 40+ years ago seems to now being bearing fruit, and that fruit is swiftly poisoning the children. The potential for damage to the children and future generations is ignored at a devastating cost. We need to begin to count that cost and turn away from the tired and troubled answer offered by the wisdom of the world. It doesn't work! It never did! All that our sexualized society can offer is a false and ephemeral playground that wounds and even kills us. The LORD Jesus offers a better alternative for each of us, and for the world.

IJHN,

L.E.E.