And I Was Making Bad Bets, For When The Odds Look Good, You Gotta Play The Hand You See

--"Would You Come With Me", The Elected

Here's the reason I hate Meerkat Manor, it fools you into thinking it's some nice show about adorable creatures of the desert. They give them all these fluffy names, show you all these playful scenes of them taking care of one another, and even allow you to really connect with them. Yet, once you've made this bond with them, they set about the business of showcasing how difficult choices must be made and, in the end, sacrifices must be made.

In short, way too many meerkats die on this show.

Now, normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. It's a nature show. I understand that. And, as most nature shows do, it has the task of allowing the audience to see both the joyous and not so joyous sides of life. For every birth, they have a responsibility to show you another one dying. I understand that. What I don't understand is why it shies away from this responsibility at the most crucial moments. It doesn't permit the viewers to witness the actual dying, but merely the prelude. I know this is to preserve the family appeal of the show. However, I think somewhere down the line someone is going to have to explain to little Timmy why Squiggy won't be seen again on the show. I mean--they have the cameras filming every new litter being born and that's a part of life. I can't see what the difficulty would be in displaying the end of that same life.

I think it sets a bad example.

For instance, the episode I watched tonight had two of the newest cubs, Len and Squiggy, making their debut with the tribe. Len was a normal pup, but his twin brother, Squiggy, was born with a deformed foot, which is never a good sign. Let's just say Squiggy's fate was sealed the day he was born. I knew it. I don't think there's anyone who watches the show who didn't knew what his ultimate outcome would be. Yet they spent enormous amounts of time showing Mitch taking care of him, showing Mitch helping to feed him, showing Squiggy barely squeak by with the rest of the group.

Then, just as quickly, he's left behind after holding the group one too many times and that's that. You never see what happens to him. You never see how long it actually takes for the desert to swallow him up. You never see any of it. That sends the wrong message to people. Yes, it's unpleasant to watch a lovely creature die. Yes, it's sad to think that they can abandon a pup not more than five weeks old. But, for chrissakes, all Squiggy to have some dignity. It's when people gloss over the unpleasantness of life that people start to lose appreciation for the fragility of life. It's when people start ignoring the awful and scary aspects of the world around them that they're allowed to continue and prosper. It's when people start taking a blind eye to the cruelty of life that cruelty begins to grow.

I know that's the way it is with me. There are many facets of existence that I would rather not experience. I don't want to know about all the stuff out there that can make me sad, or hurt me, or upset me. I'm rather fond of keeping an even keel. Sometimes, though, I think it's good to go through a little adversity to let you know that you're alive. It's good for me to stay and watch something that bothers me like Meerkat Manor because it really does hit home with the point that everyone faces challenges and not everyone succeeds. That's a lesson I believe I need ingrained in my psyche. A big part of my personality knows I haven't been challenged enough which means I haven't failed enough to make me truly want to succeed. I've been content to coast through at an even pace. I haven't really fallen all too often or all too far, but I think I also haven't made it to any sort of summit or pinnacle.

I think that's because the majority of my life has been lived according to philosophies of the editors of the show. I've been to the brink of really seeing the horribleness of life, but I've never really been exposed to it. Like those selfsame editors who cut away Squiggy getting killed or another Meerkat being separated from the group, I've been unlucky to have people who've tried to keep those adverse consequences from ever getting to me. I've never really felt as bad as I really could have.

I'm not saying that I enjoy the pain because I don't. But I know deep down that I haven't really felt the loss and the sadness and the tears that other people have. I need to get rid of those filters that never allow me to really feel something truly devastating.

Otherwise, I'm just going to go right on through life believing that the hand I was given can always be redealt, instead of acknowledging the fact there are some choices I make that are binding for life and that not all mistakes can be corrected.

I need to develop that healthy respect for the life I was fortunate enough to have been given as well as a healthy fear of that life being taken away too soon from me.

Yours Swimmingly,
mojo shivers