Reality Television Hurts America

[UnityDem]

First, I will readily admit that I watch reality television. Shows such as "Survivor" and "Big Brother" have been a guilty pleasure for me. Also, I find these shows preferable to the inane sitcoms and endless police shows. However, lately I have been wondering if (by watching these shows) that I am buying into a mindset that is hurting our nation. These shows are all based on the idea that "greed is good". They have you lie, cheat, gossip, backstab, etc. to achieve your goal. The better you are at these things, the better your chance for winning. So what, you say? Well......if these things are considered okay (and encouraged) on television to win money, why aren't they okay in society? In Congress? In the White House? Now, the easy answer is to just say for me (and others) to stop watching that crap. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be happening. These shows are much cheaper to produce than hiring high priced actors/producers/writers. However, I do think that there is a silver lining for us (from a political standpoint). Just as with sporting events, reality shows that seem to be "rigged" or "unfair" are universally disparaged. I think that what Democrats need to do is to STRESS THAT THE CURRENT GAME IN WASHINGTON IS RIGGED. Whenever we can get before a microphone, use the Abramoff scandal and anything else at our disposal to stress this. Most Americans still believe in basic fairness. We need to find a way to show that the game, right now, is anything but fair.

[Gatchaman]

1. It's funny people get so wrapped up in game shows

because that's all these are: game shows. Sure, there's no Wink Martindale, and no big board with fabulous prizes, but they feature carefully screened people in an artificial situation following arbitrary rules. There's a host, judges, and winners and losers.

That's why I can't see the quasi-celebrity status of people who get voted off the island. You're not a celebrity, you're a loser on a game show. You're just like the guy on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire who thought that Hannibal crossed the Alps with llamas.