Love Someone Tonight

I have a dirty confession to make. It's one I'm rather ashamed of.

While in the car delivering pizzas, I've found myself listening to the Radio Delilah show. I happened across her show, while turning the dial one night looking for something to listen to. In my area, the choice is mainly country or rap. The rock station I normally listen to had been playing less and less of the classic rock I like, so I was hunting for an alternative. The station that hosts Delilah plays a lot of 70s music, so that's how I found her.

I dislike about 80 percent of the music she plays, but I find myself listening, many times in disbelief, to her talking to callers in between songs. She's like a train wreck -- I'm often appalled by what she says, but I can't help but listen.

Most of what she says to callers about love and relationships is perfectly tame and unremarkable. People call in and tell their relationship stories, usually wanting to dedicate a song to someone. All well and good.

But there's a strong current of judgmentalism on her show, stemming from her religious fundamentalism. The other night, she was talking to this mother of two children who wanted to dedicate a song to her "boyfriend". Delilah jumped on the word "boyfriend" immediately, saying, "What's wrong with this picture?", wanting to know why they weren't married.

The caller went on to praise this man as a kind and considerate mate, a good father, etc. In other words, there WASN'T anything "wrong" with that picture.

Many times, I've heard Delilah berate women who are not legally married to their children's fathers. Who is she to decide what's right for everyone, especially considering she's been divorced two times herself? Yet, she continues to insist that marriage must be a "lifelong commitment" to someone you will "spend the rest of your life with", and that it should be the goal of every romantic relationship.

She also refuses to play dedications for those who are in nonmongamous relationships, chastising anyone bold enough to call and ask. Nor have I ever heard her play a dedication for someone involved in a same-sex relationship of any kind.

Her slogan is "Love Someone Tonight". She just doesn't mention that those who desire anything other than lifelong, legal, heterosexual, monogamous marriage need not apply.

I've been strongly tempted to call in to her show one night, tell her all about MY sex life, ask to dedicate a song to several lovers, then wait for her to start sputtering in indignation. I get a lot of perverse pleasure just thinking about doing this.

Thoughts?