The Importance of Example
The Importance of Example What is a good relationship? It’s a big question and the answer will differ from person to person. Some folks will draw on examples, good and bad, from within their own family to decide what it is in a partner that matters to them. Some will take an answer from their culture, their religion, their society. But some, poor souls, may decide to take their answer from the example of film and television and that is the point, I fear, where things may start to go wrong. Because using something designed to be dramatic (often melodramatic) created for the purposes of entertainment as one’s example, consciously or not, is not the way to a happy and fulfilling future. Take the British soap opera EastEnders. When it started, forty years ago now, it was known for its gritty realism and tackling social issues. It addressed matters like alcoholism, domestic abuse, HIV, gay relationships, PTSD, racism and drug abuse. I used to watch it regularly, long ago, but aband...