Dog Days

I may have given some of you the impression that I don't care for the media attention/cultural attention that some celebrities receive. I may have posted in such a way to cause some to believe that the media focuses too much on people who do not have the outstanding qualities we should all be striving to achieve in our own lives. If you got this impression from my blogging, then, you got the point.

Next contestant on the chronically stupid media parade: Michael Vick.

I make no secret that I do not like sports. I don't follow sports nor do I take an active or passive interest in them. I am seldom up to speed on the who's who of athletics. And prior to the current news media blitz regarding the Atlanta Falcon's Michael Vick, I wouldn't know diddly about him.

But because of the media attention he is receiving lately, I have found out something about him. A.) He plays (past tense: played) professional football. B.) He was involved in dog fighting to some degree. C.) He has been given national attention in major, serious news media outlets for a crime that should be mentioned on the 4th or 5th page of a newspaper or in the sports section.

Let me start by saying that I do not believe that dog fighting is a sport. Nor do I believe that the animals are in any way treated humanely. But folks, dog fighting was around a lot longer before Michael Vick was given his first tiny football in his bassinet. This is not a new fad in the circles of the rich and famous. This has been known world wide and historically for hundreds of years. If you throw in together other animal fighting sports such as bear-baiting or bull-baiting (not to mention the Roman coliseum) we can consider this type of thing as having continued throughout human civilization.

But now it is on the front page. Simply because someone "famous" got caught with their fingers in the pudding (so to speak - if you put any body part between two fighting dogs, it will not come back to you in one piece).

But why, oh why, is this getting daily national attention? Not only that, but I heard one news commentator say that Vick is being pursued with the Federal judicial system.

And here is the kicker - he is pleading guilty to the lowest level of the crime: conspiracy. He is saying that, "Yep, me and some other guys were sitting around talking about holding some dog fights. We made the plans. But I didn't actually do anything."

So here is the wrap-up: Michael Vick is getting nationwide media attention for talking with some other individuals about holding some dogfights and the Federal court system is saying, "Okay, we believe you," when this should have never gotten into the Federal system. This is something state courts get to handle.

So we get to watch another celebrity get away with something morally vacant with a minor amount of punishment. But that punishment is outweighed by the amount of publicity (and that folks is the bread and butter of a celebrity) he will receive.

And - just to ice the cake - Michael Vick told everyone in a press conference that he found Jesus through all of this and has turned his life over to God.

Well that just made it all better, didn't it?