I love it when reality breaks down a good media stereotype

The media would have us believe everything is black and white. Or gay and straight. Or male and female. Or liberal and conservative. Or Christian and Jew (or Muslim, depending on the issue at hand). Or any split where one group is at war with the other, and everyone is defined by stark contrasts and blind alliances to a singular viewpoint. Even Religious and Secular is given that treatment. Naturally, as I mentioned in my reflections below on the PBS show, it isn't difficult to see the allegiance of the media outlet. Yet in real life, things simply aren't that cut and dry, never have been, never will be. We're at our best when we remember that, at our worst when we forget. So Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, praises his meeting with the Pope. Just when the popular culture and the a few secular fundamentalists that the popular culture seek to appease, would have us believe it's all warfare and hatred between the two groups. Is there bitterness and strife among some? Sure. But among many others nothing could be farther from the truth. May we continue to ignore the shallow and superficial portraits painted by our vendors of media culture in exchange for the real hope and promise that comes from real people living real lives.