beauty

Let’s embrace the road less travelled on the Intramuralist, wrestling with a subject atypical of our daily dialogue…  did anyone watch “The Bachelor” finale Monday night?

Now lest you believe we’ve strayed too far from the wisdom (or lack of it) within current events, I humbly submit to you that Monday’s so-called “reality television” made manifest one glaring cultural value. Let me first provide a brief synopsis, as creatively editorialized by The Baltimore Sun…

I come to you with good news:  The season is over and we never have to see El Bachelor Juan Pablo again.  Things certainly have changed since “Juanuary” when we were so excited to join Juan Pablo on his “adventura.”  What we didn’t know was that “adventura” meant “journey taken by a rude, arrogant, egotistical, racist, cocky, douchebag, lying, hypocritical, self-centered, offensive jerk.”

While the above may be a little harsh, on Monday’s finale, Juan Pablo chose between 2 women, Nikki and Clare.  At the climactic decision point, Clare went first (never a good sign).  Back to the Sun…

For some reason, Clare talks first and launches into a speech about how much she loves him and how much she believes in him.  Juan Pablo can barely keep from yawning.  Please stop talking, Clare.  Juan Pablo finally speaks and tells her she is amazing woman but he “wishes the earth sucked me today because this is hardest decision but I have to say goodbye to you.”  He goes in for the adios hug and Clare pushes him away, which elicits huge applause from the live audience and the National Organization for Women.  In her whiney baby voice, Clare tells him off and leaves with “After what you put me through I would never want my children to have a father like you”… Juan Pablo’s response to Clare’s verbal whipping is to casually shrug and say, “Whoo I’m glad I didn’t pick her”…

And then came the victor…

Nikki arrives and can’t wait to hear Juan Pablo tell her he loves her.  She too launches into a speech about how great he is and that she can’t imagine spending her life without him.  Please stop talking, Nikki.  He tells her “I love so many things about you.  You are like me, very honest.”  He doesn’t tell her he loves her…  Juan Pablo tells Nikki that he is not 100 percent sure that he wants to propose, but he is 100 percent sure that he doesn’t want to let her go because “I like you, A LOT.”

In the televised interviews after the announced selection, the ambience was odd.  There was much talk from many women about how Juan Pablo never connected emotionally with any of the women in the room.  He didn’t ask them questions.  He didn’t get to know them.  And then to the woman he chose, he could not, would not, acknowledge whether he loved her or not.

And here then is why ABC’s popular dating show is the content for today’s post… (thank you, those of you who’ve stayed with us even after the frequent sighs…)

When Juan Pablo first met each of these women, his most frequent utterance was “wow.”  As the show proceeded, he kissed many.  He kissed many one right after the other.  He did more than kiss.  There were multiple times he spoke gleefully about some great connection, when the supposedly tethered woman didn’t seem to feel it.  It was all about the looks.  It was about physical attraction.  From my limited vantage point, this year’s bachelor was driven by external appearance.

Real beauty, however, comes from our inner self.  It’s the only beauty that never fades.  Current culture doesn’t seem to get that… as witnessed, sadly, on “The Bachelor.”

Respectfully,

AR