Survivor: China: Lying and Betrayal

Quote of the day:
"We are, perhaps, uniquely among the earth's creatures, the worrying animal. We worry away our lives, fearing the future, discontent with the present, unable to take in the idea of dying, unable to sit still."
--Lewis Thomas

I think the TV show “Survivor” has something to teach us about presidential elections.

The message is simple. The person who plays the game best wins. Honesty, integrity, talent, goodness and responsibility do not matter in determining the winner.

Skills or experience do not matter. The only skill that is measured is the ability to play the game.

The honest person with integrity cannot win, because the game is played using lying, deceit and betrayal.

The final program of “Survivor: China” had two parts. The first part had the three finalists making their case before the jury.

The seven people on the jury were the last seven people voted off the show. Every jury member had been lied to or betrayed by at least one of the finalists.

The process became choosing the “least bad” person as the winner. Sound familiar?

As they were questioning the finalists, several of the jury got quite angry and hurt in describing how they had been deceived or betrayed. These feelings seemed very real. Of course, everyone had been in the wilderness for 39 days, so emotions were understandably raw.

But those emotions were also quite true to the situation.

The second part of the show shifted to a live broadcast from a Hollywood TV studio to reveal who got the most votes from the jury to win the game. The mood of the jury was suddenly very, very different.

A few months had gone by. Everyone had gone home and discovered what celebrities they had become. They had lots of food and sleep and hot showers.

In the studio, the jury was happy, and very forgiving. When asked how they felt being betrayed, everyone smiled and said, “that’s just how the game is played.”

Soon, another “Survivor” will begin. So will the lying, deceit, betrayal, hurt and pain.

But it’s ok. It’s just how the game is played.