When the Homily is about Immunology

CSI: Conspiring to bring Secularism to the Ignorant

Unlike many of you, my dear readers, I am only ascetic to a certain point and thus will from time to regular time engage in that most dreadful of activities: watching TV. One very popular show that I will frequent is called “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and I must admit that I generally enjoy the show – if only in part because they make lab work look REALLY cool…albeit too cool.

I try to ignore the parts of the show where I am forced to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all: labs that are barely lit by hip and cool lighting (making me wonder if anyone associated with the production of the show has ever seen a real lab), C.S. investigators doing what is clearly the work of detectives, techs sorting through fresh bloody garments without eye protection (last night actually), and of course far more cleavage than I have ever seen in my lab – thank God. But I can generally forgive these sorts of issues in lieu of mysterious and intriguing plotlines that keep me interested and guessing. At least until now, because like one other CBS show (“Without a Trace”) CSI decided that last night they would preach to me.

The topic was “transgendered” persons. Naturally the program took the spin that these folks were simply normal individuals who struggle with some unknown genetic abnormality. But throughout the program we were treated to numerous sermons, which in my mind were so blatantly trying to “evangelize” the people of America who seemingly need to be enlightened that I could hardly stomach it. It so interfered with the plot, that I wondered why they didn’t simply have the characters stand behind a podium and give us a speech (of course this isn’t nearly as effective as “hiding” the sermons amidst a story)

At one point we are told, without argument, that gender is a social construct. I liked to have fallen out of my chair when I heard this – I mean what role do these CSI’s think the DNA they so often are searching for plays in human beings? Gender is a social construct? Someone needs to go back to school and study this thing we here in the lab like to call BIOLOGY.

And to cap it all off we are treated to a lovely little sermon by the lead character who, in true evolutionary biologist fashion (i.e. so dependent upon theoretical speculation so as to be rendered utterly unprovable), likens human sexuality and gender to that of an oyster Apparently some oysters are able to change their genders and the character speculates that perhaps when we humans “came out of the muck” we retained a similar, albeit more rare, trait.

Makes sense to me, after all I have seen plenty of Oysters giving one another sex change operations. I think what irritaes me the most is that the show sort of bills itself as being “scientific” and when they lump little secularistic sermons into the show they tend to lend the ideas being proposed scientific credance that frankly is NOT there. There seems to be an alterior motive to the production of some shows like last night’s CSI and it is really irritating me.

Now, if any of you are planning on commenting saying: “Why don’t you turn the TV off” then let me preempt you by saying: You are missing the point. It’s not about whether I or you turn the TV off, its about the fact that the VAST majoirty of Americans do not and will not turn it off. The sermons will continue to come over the airwaves.