Being a Survivor

When the reality TV show Survivor first aired 25 years ago, I watched the first season with interest. My husband claims I was hooked, but I couldn’t watch it after that first trip to the island.   

The premise of being the last “survivor” on a deserted island sounded all right at first. Then the contestants started forming “alliances” in order to push out other competitors. But in the end, if only one contender remains to win the one million dollars, why would anyone trust anyone else?

I thought they should redesign the show so that everyone needs to work together to split the million dollars, and if one loses, they all lose. But where would be the fun in that, right?  

Recently, though, it has dawned on me that the men and women running our government think they are playing “Survivor”. There are two teams – the Republicans and the Democrats – and each team still picks people to be in alliance with so that they are strong enough to get their way. They work to suppress the other party and even the weaker members of their own party. They fight for what they want - they want to win the prize.  

I wish they’d wake up and realize they are not on a reality TV show. They are not on a deserted island foraging for food and competing in contrived contests of skill.

The only fight they are in is the one to see that the United States will survive. That our people will survive poverty, illness, homelessness, racism, violence, fear, and all the other maladies so many face every day.    

When are our elected officers going to realize that? They are not on the island to save themselves; they were elected to save us! And the only way to do that is for everyone to work together and forget about the million dollar prize.