Part Two: The Popular Vote

By Kanrei

I think I missed a page somewhere in my life's story. Last time I checked, David Hasselhoff was pretending to be a lifeguard with a talking car or something and Paris Hilton was a barely-dressed reality show star with a tendency to flash photographers. Now I see they both are not just singers, but singers with well reviewed albums?

Were those door-to-door preachers actually right and I died and find myself in Hell? Which flavor of G-d were they selling again and is the offer still good? If you swear it will be eternity with quality entertainment, I will consider your flavor: anything to take me away from a world where Paris Hilton is a pop star.

Has Reality Television so lowered our standards of entertainment that we don't even require, oh let's say TALENT from our stars anymore? I should not say Reality Television. Thanks to that stupid Cancun spring break movie and now two Jackass movies, MTV has spread this horrible disease well beyond the boob-tube. It is an epidemic.

We have gotten to a point where we let Reality shows decide our pop stars, our next big actor, and our freaks? How long until we decide that elections would make a ton of money if we just put them on TV and charged people $0.99 per call?

I can see it now:

"Call as many times as you want. Come on America and pick who will be your next President of the United States! Will it be Bob from Chicago who can balance a refrigerator on his chin? OR will it be Susan from St. Louis who can sing the entire score of "Jesus Christ Superstar" entirely in Greek? The lines are open America."

You may think I am making a joke, but I honestly am not sure if that is a joke or fortune telling. The path we are taking entertainment-wise scares me as a student of history. Right before most empires fall, the citizens take delight in watching the suffering of others. It used to be feeding people to lions, now it is humiliation on television and bad singers pretending to be actors and bad actors being bad singers.

At least no one dies anymore, although if I hear "Stars are Blind" again, that may change. Again, I hope I am joking =D