THE NEW ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE

NBC’s Skyler Wilder says that Olympic Gold Medalist David Wise leads an alternative lifestyle because at age 23 he has a wife and child and attends church regularly. [See his report here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/wrc/news/david-wises-alternative-lifestyle-leads-olympic-gold]. Wilder finds it amazing that Wise, whom he characterizes as a child, acts like an adult. I had no idea that acting like an adult was now an alternative lifestyle. I think Wilder’s article gives near-conclusive evidence that the mainstream media in general and NBC in particular is out of touch with reality. What David Wise has done with his private life is exactly what the vast majority of Americans have done with their private lives for the past 200 years. It is tragic that we as Americans are now letting the media be the arbiter of what is normal and what isn’t. Under the sway of the media we have become a nation where responsible married men are oddballs and the surest path to becoming an iconic hero is to be an entertainer who dies of a drug overdose. Once upon a time in America we made heroes of soldiers [e.g. Alvin York], astronauts [e.g. John Glenn], and educators [e.g. Albert Einstein]. Now our heroes are singers, actors, and sports figures—and the more they misbehave, the higher their star rises. Meanwhile, back in the real world we still have people who hold down steady jobs, try to be good parents to their children, and work hard at staying married to the same person. Such people, who are now considered pursuers of an alternative lifestyle, built this country. And if the supply of such Americans ever runs dry, we will be in big trouble.