« Redaction ... Cool New Word Tool! | Main | Webcast Tomorrow (Thursday) »

Every once in awhile, this Office blogger has to give a few minutes to the enlightenment of Msr. de Voltaire. I occassionally wonder what Voltaire might think about different things in our society, from the evil of fanaticism that he fought so hard against -- to the wonder of technology today and its capabilities.

I think of the sardonic laugh he would get out of the fact that we use the technology of television for the pathetic and base phenomenon of reality television. But, there is one reality show I think he could get behind...

Last night, I was watching a rerun of Extreme Makeover Home Edition --and to my surprise, I cried through most of it. If you've never seen it, it's TV that's actually good for the soul. Now, I realize that ABC does this show to make money, as do the people who star in it -- but why shouldn't they? Unlike most television, reality or otherwise, they're also doing something for someone else.

As they built homes for two homeless families, gave Sears shopping sprees to many others who needed clothing and other necessities (kudos to Sears and the other companies involved, who have found the best use for advertising dollars that I've ever seen), and even gave out a couple of jobs ... I thought of the times I've heard this show compared sarcastically to the Eva Peron Foundation or those who have said it's like a lottery, and there are so many they don't help.

That's about the best excuse -- and one of the most common, isn't it? -- for not helping anyone. That is, to say that you can't help everyone or can't do enough to be bothered doing anything...

Voltaire, who made a great deal of money in his life, did not help everyone -- but he helped far more than most. Among other things, he became patriarch of two small French towns. A job was found for anyone who wanted one. Ferney and Tourney became known as the towns where peasants had glass to cover their windows.

In my recent television experiences, that particular reality show was second only to the Brad Pitt\Diane Sawyer interview where they alluded to a promise of tabloid gossip in order to show us all the tragedy of starving and sick children in Africa. Now, that was downright brilliant. I turned on that show not for the gossip, but because ... well, I don't think a woman needs an excuse to watch Brad Pitt anywhere and any time the opportunity arises ;-) ... But, I've never had such respect for an actor as I did after he did that. Nice.

Sometimes, it's hard to give credit for what is done rather than censure for what is not. But isn't doing something a start? Wouldn't it be nice if shows like that one on ABC -- or efforts like those of Mr. Pitt -- sparked a trend like television seems to do regularly for much less respectable reasons?

I know this is far from a profound thought -- I'm not trying to be original, it was just on my mind and seemed like something worth sharing.

... and thinking about someone else seems like a nice way to start the week.

Happy Monday everyone!

Posted by Stephanie

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.arouet.net/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/117