All of us staff just got our complimentary copy of Presbyterians Today in our mailbox this afternoon (I told my roommate she could cancel her subscription, but she said it was a Christmas gift from her parents). It includes a television review on the show Desperate Housewives. Personally, I think I've only seen part of the first episode. However, the show has swept the nation as a "guilty pleasure" program.

Teresa Blythe's review is a good one, actually, from a gender standpoint. She points out, "Most of the world's 'desperate housewives' are women in Third-World countries who have to do tedious and back-breaking work at home (while tending the children) in order to make a few pennies a day-- much less than what most of us earn" (24). It also judges this show as an accurate reflection of American materialism that has lost touch with the spiritual and any sense of community. But hey, at least it's not another cheesy reality TV show.

As I said, I haven't seen enough of this show to tell you what you should think about it. In fact, I don't watch enough TV to tell you what to think about any show. My last "can't miss" program was another Teri Hatcher hit-- Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

The review, though, does bring up an interesting point about the privileged lifestyles of many Americans. Have our possessions interfered with our connections to nature, to one another, and to God? We use our wealth to create secure little worlds for ourselves, bubbles where money brings complete independence, and independence prevents us from getting hurt. We exploit our world's resources (and the people who produce them) so that we don't have to rely on our neighbor for help. We buy the best in services so that we don't need the strength only faith can provide.

We're desperate, all right. Yet here's what is so exciting about the women I work with: in a culture of alienation, NNPCW women dive right into the middle. You want to experience the pain of others and to make a difference in it. You want to go beyond helping-- you hope to come alongside those in your communities, transforming the systems that cause their pain. And you see your community as the entire world. You are creating a new culture, one in which connection replaces alienation and God's love permeates our self-absorbed little bubbles.

You're doing great work, and I'm honored to know you as you do it. Thank you.

"How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?" -- 1 John 3:17

Kelsey

PS-- Thanks, Viola, for the Donne passage and the others. It has been a while since I've read the Holy Sonnets, but I should revisit them. I always loved their theological nuances.