Just One Reason That Reality TV is Dumb

In no way am I someone who's "in" with pop culture or current events. I don't follow the latest styles (I even wear denim shorts sometimes). My phone still flips open. I only have an iPod Nano. And normally, when something happens in culture, I don't find out about if for several weeks, if at all. Even so, for a pretty long while I've been noticing all sorts of things about the status of the couple from "Jon & Kate Plus 8." This is the show on TLC where this couple has about a million babies and they go to Disneyland and throw birthday parties and all sorts of fun things for the amusement of the television audience. I've actually even seen a couple episodes. But evidently, all wasn't well in the household, and the magazine headlines at the grocery store register were sure to let me know how Jon was seen at a baseball game with another woman and how Kate is on a diet to impress some new guy or whatever. But of course, we all know such magazines aren't trustworthy, so I figured this was something that would blow over in a few days.

Yesterday as I was surfing through the channels in the afternoon, I noticed at the bottom of the screen on TLC that there was to be a special episode of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" in which the couple would make a big announcement. I didn't watch the episode, but the headlines on MSN today informed me that the big announcement is that the couple is getting a divorce but that they're still going to do the show.

That was the big event. That's the announcement. That's the episode that TLC worked so hard to promote and make sure everyone watched. That's what weeks of magazine headlines pointed to.

What a sad, disheartening commentary on our society. This is an actual family, an actual marriage. And its implosion is used to sell advertisements. I obviously know nothing about the details or what led to this, but it's just sad. Another marriage crumbles, and no one is really even bothered. Heck, we celebrate it. A marriage fails, and America watches with interest. And Satan probably watches us with a little bit of a smile.