Getting Real

True confessions time...I am addicted to reality shows. Yes, I know I should raise my sights and watch things that are more uplifting and more intellectually stimulating (and I do...) but I admit that I have this strange attraction to watching "real" people as opposed to scripted, laugh-tracked robots. Of course, we all know that there's not really alot of "real" going on in some of the so-called "reality" shows, but I find that I gravitate more toward the talent type programs...like "So You Think You Can Dance," or "America's Got Talent" and particularly "American Idol." It's fascinating watching folks, just like myself, take a chance, put themselves out there, and dream about their shot at fame.

Also (and I'm definitely ashamed to admit it...) it's interesting to watch some of the people who really shouldn't have taken the chance. You know who I'm talking about...the ones who have absolutely NO talent whatsoever, but are so clueless, they show up, expecting to walk out with a multimillion dollar contract on the spot. It's often funny but also often painful, to the point of squirming, to see just how truly lacking in any talent some people can be without actually realizing they have no talent. Of course, I always REALLY wonder about the ones who show up with a multitude of family and friends in tow, cheering them on even as they totally humiliate themselves in front of America. Are these loved ones ALL that tone deaf or blind that they also can't recognize how lame their auditioning friend is...or are they secretly just really mean and want to see them go down in flames? In either event, it's a bit like watching a car wreck, knowing that you really should avert your eyes and not look at the carnage...but unable to turn your head because it's SO mesmerizingly awful.

But you know the ones that TRULY amaze and apall me? In every show of this type, there are always a multitude of spoiled, ugly, arrogant applicants who, when turned down for a spot, go out the door shouting, screaming, flipping the middle finger, spewing vulgarities, and swearing that the judges don't have a CLUE how utterly awesome they are!! I mean, 15,000 people show up for the possibility of receiving one of only a handful of "golden tickets" and THESE fools rant and rave because they didn't happen to be one of them? Even if they had a tiny measure of talent, the very fact that they totally turn into cursing lunatics when they don't get their 15 minutes of fame proves that they weren't really up to the job in the first place.

WHEN did we all get the idea that there are no losers in life? How did people, particularly our younger citizens, come up with the concept that they should ALWAYS be first, always win, always get things their way, and never have to face adversity, trials, difficulty, loss, or failure? Have we become such a lazy, self-centered society that we have completely taken it to heart when Burger King tells us we should "Have YOUR Way?"

In a sea of 15,000 voices, sitting around in a stadium, in one of a dozen towns where 15,000 more people will be sitting around in each of them, what gives someone the unshakeable idea that THEY are guaranteed to waltz into their dream future?

There was a time when loss, failure, adversity, trial, difficulty, and just plain NOT getting everything we wanted was what made us who we are. We worked on developing CHARACTER and MORALS and EXPERIENCE instead of instant fame, wealth, and noteriety. Now, instead of a good reputation and a compassionate heart, we'd rather have a hit show, best selling film, or platinum album...at ANY cost. Not quite sure that's true? Watch one episode of "The Bachelor" and follow the exploits of a dozen attractive young women who are totally willing to prostitute themselves and degrade themselves for the "affections" of a man they don't even know...a man who is having his way with every single one of them in sucession and then tossing a couple aside every episode while working his way down to the "dream girl" that he'll propose to...and then toss aside in a few weeks when he realizes he doesn't have a clue who SHE is either.

Here's the REAL part of reality: We don't always win. We don't always get what we want. We are going to fall down, skin our noses, have our hearts broken, cry alot, lose alot, stumble often, and possibly never, ever quite reach our "dreams" before the end of our lives. On the other hand, if we learn from our losses, are content with what we have, pick ourselves up when we fall, heal from our wounds, open our hearts, dry our tears, and understand that our "dreams" are goals we strive for, but not absolutes that we MUST achieve in life...then, at the end of our days, we will look back and see that we became good, caring, strong, loving, sucessful, happy people who made a difference in the world and left it better for us having been in it.

Reality doesn't always have to be about US...