One of the enjoyable aspects of the Hallmark Channel is that, to date, the viewer finds an absence of profanity. Sure, they run 65,000 Christmas movies in December, and in their mystery series, the woman is almost always the dominant character, but at least no one must worry about an outbreak of vulgarity. However, they do present a kind of Fantasyland as it pertains to their characters. They all drink, but no one ever gets drunk.
Almost every occasion calls for wine; one would think their programs were sponsored by Napa Valley. Wine is necessary for birthday celebrations, anniversaries, marriage proposals, weddings, solving murders, clipping toenails; okay, that last one involved just a little hyperbole. Apparently, no one drinks Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper. One may spy coffee being sampled in the morning or tea for lunch, but for dinner it is always wine. And everyone drinks responsibly, which is the reason the viewer should know he is in Fantasyland. According to Internet statistics, 15,000,000 Americans are alcoholics, and since a substantial amount of these die every year, reinforcements continually arrive to take their places.
Of course, all the makers of beer and wine encourage their customers to drink responsibly. How hypocritical! They know full well that if everyone drank responsibly, they would not make a profit. So, how are they enriched? They have 15,000,000 customers who cannot drink responsibly. Many of them have tried “drying out”; many of them have joined Alcoholics Anonymous—for a time. But many eventually return to their irresponsible lifestyle.
Regular television and movies (not Hallmark) often portray adultery and fornication the same way—no consequences. Friends sleep with each other, people have affairs with acquaintances, but no one ever contracts a disease of any kind. The reality can be found by checking statistics on the Internet.
Rates of gonorrhea rose by 67 percent, syphilis by 76 percent, and chlamydia by 21 percent, to a total of almost 2.3 million cases nationwide. According to the CDC, 2017 surpassed 2016 as the year with
the most reported STD cases on record—and marked the fourth year in a row that STDs increased steeply in the U.S.
Men in their twenties have the highest risk. Promiscuity is the usual method of contracting any of these. Isn’t it interesting that no one ever develops one of these in the entertainment media? Anyone who thinks he is completely safe in engaging in alcohol and fornication is living in Fantasyland and encouraging others to join them.