No Man is an Island

by B. McIntosh

            The past few years have brought an interesting shift in the television industry.  When I was growing up, in the eighties and early nineties, there was an abundance of comedies and sitcoms, such as The Cosby Show, The Bundy’s, Mama’s Family and MaGuyver.  There was also a profusion of, game shows like Password, Win, Lose or Draw and Family Feud.  However today, while there are still many sitcoms, dramas, comedies and game shows on television they’re not as popular any more.  Today, it’s all about reality. 

Almost every television station has it’s own reality based show. (Fear Factor, Survivor, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The In laws, American Idol, Nashville Star…)   While they may appear to be different they share a common theme.  Each shows starts with several people, and at the end there is only one man/woman standing.

      These shows are all about, winning out over the competition and being the last one left on the island, the one to get the girl or the guy, the record contract or the million dollar prize.  Most of them involve the participants backbiting, undermining the competition and finding strategies that will get them what they want.  To achieve this end they form alliances with other members, not because they genuinely like them, or want to be around them but simply because they feel that they can use them to achieve their own end.  These shows portray human behavior at it’s worst.  They show the “I’m going to win even if I have to scheme, backbite and step on some toes to do so” mentality.

            However, I refuse to believe that the world has gotten so self-centered!    We are not in competition with each other.  In fact we need each other to survive. If you see every young lady as competition you’re going to lead a very lonely existence.  Try to see the good in others, try to do good for others without expecting anything in return.

            I’d like to conclude by sharing this old poem that I like with you.

 No man is an island, No man stands alone, Each man’s joy is joy to me, Each man’s grief is my own, We need one another, So I will defend, Each man as my brother, each man as my friend. 

This article was taken, in part from a talk I gave at a teen girls sleepover October 4, 2003 in East Grand Bahama.  The topic was I Need You to Survive