Reality TV Show Idea: Fundamentalist Survivor!
Through all of recorded history, religion has played a part in war. As our ancestors began to walk upright, they started to wonder about the amazing world around them. As time went on, they began to contemplate the cosmos. And because they didn’t have an understanding of the science around them, they developed and assigned various mythologies with assuring explanations. And just a couple of minutes later, they started fighting about which one was right. And it hasn’t stopped yet. In fact, it seems to be increasing as more nations find themselves being ran by religious zealots. (Iran and America are two good examples) and the world is far less equipped to handle the strife as more nations acquire nuclear weapons capability.
So what can we do? How about a reality tv show? When I saw the AC contest, I knew I saw the answer staring me in the face. Put ’em on an island, and let ’em sort it out. Let each major religion pick a team. Well, maybe not the Buddhists or Wiccans, they seem pretty mello-so just the “hell raising’ ones. Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, any religion that is involved in strife or persecution anywhere in the world would be required to compete. So instead of thousands of people being killed in religious wars, we can contain the loss to a few of the most ardently nutty.
How will it work, you ask? Each religion will have a lottery to choose its teams from those interested in taking part. Teams will be taken to an island with cameras placed all over, so that no part isn’t viewable. No producers or support personnel will be on the island, teams will have to totally fend for themselves. After six months (or when only one team survives, whichever comes first) the game ends. The team that wins can report back to its Mullahs or Priests or Pastors that God smiled on them, and they are the best religion. to make them feel better, we can declare the winners the officially right religion for the next year, until the game is played again. To ensure that no one goes beyond the game, We would have to establish severe penalties for religions that fail to acknowledge the winner. As far as the game rules go, there will only be one-those who survive, win.
Can you imagine how big the game would get? There would be sponsorships, worldwide television coverage, and billions of dollars of advertising. The endless litany of religious warfare could be ended, and the world would be down a few fruitcakes every year. Of course, it’s only wishful thinking, we can’t end religious warfare until we end fundamentalism. But we can dare to dream, eh?
