Shirley Temple died last week. Though I have never seen a Shirley Temple movie…and have never even had a Shirley Temple drink…I felt strangely sad when I heard the news. To me, Shirley Temple represented a different era in America…an era in which TV and movies presented the best of America. The ideal. Child stars were cute, respectful, hopeful. There was no pressure to be more. It was okay to simply be "good."
Today the scene is different. "Good" is seen as unrealistic, too good to be true. The "child star" who makes it today soon finds out that to keep the spotlight they have to be sexier, more risque, more rebellious, more cool. Shirley Temple has been replaced by Miley Cyrus.
I know that's an overgeneralization but there is a ring of reality to it. We no longer promote and hold up the ideal; we expect and present the dysfunctional. The Leave It to Beaver family is ridiculed as a relic of the past. Fake. Unbelievable. Even hypocritical. What kind of family was really like that? Dad wearing suits at home. Mom cooking dinner in a dress. Beaver making innocent gaffes. We want to see the dysfunction today. The extreme. The strange. The Modern Family. Non-traditional. Streetwise kids. Clueless parent(s). Loose morals. Heavy duty problems.
It's a different world. We're a different nation. And TV loves to show this.
So why portray the "Beaver family" when families have so many problems? Why promote a "Shirley Temple" image when the world is so much darker and dysfunctional?
I thought about that in relation to the Olympics.
When I watch the athletes in the Olympics, I am amazed. The strength. The grace. The skill. I realize that I could never do the things I see (except maybe curling). The training needed is extensive. The dedication is total. The athleticism is rare. I can barely snowplow much less slalom down a hill at break neck speed…or jump a football field in the air…or land a triple salchow on ice…or do a 1080 corkscrew spin on a snowboard.
But I love to see the ideal. I want to celebrate excellence.
Even though I could never reach the level of an Olympian, they inspire me to strive a little further, to dedicate myself more, to exercise more, to dream more. I see the level that a person can reach and it convicts me, humbles me, motivates me, pushes me.
Imagine ostracizing, criticizing, and marginalizing exceptional athletes because they are too far beyond us. They are too good to be true. They make us feel guilty. They are not "normal."
Imagine gathering people from all over the world for a display of athletic mediocrity or dysfunctionality. The inexperienced ski jump (or who can break the most bones falling off the ski ramp). Most falls around an ice rink. Most pathetic snowplow down a hill (I got a chance in that one). It might be like a bad episode of WipeOut. Fun to watch for the embarrassment of the contestants. But nothing to celebrate. Nothing to gather people in stadiums to watch. Nothing to give out medals for. Nothing to inspire national pride. Nothing to make us better.
It is sad that we still expect excellence in athletics but not in life. We celebrate the ideal physically but not morally. We admire dedication and personal sacrifice for a gold medal but not for the beauty of sexual purity…or the preservation of a marriage…or the stability of a family…or the virtue of a nation.
The Bible indicates that what we meditate on will eventually change us, shape us, define us.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8).
When our entertainment is vulgar and sexualized, it is no surprise that our culture is too.
So with the passing of Shirley Temple, it feels like we have lost something precious as a nation.
Not a gold medal…not an iconic "child star"…not even the innocence of a prior generation.
It feels like we have lost our common sense.
It feels like we have lost our soul.
