Moral critics need to look in mirror

Ashwin Raman -- Staff Column

As war with Iraq gets increasingly likely each day, Americans have started to search for some form of escapism to relieve them from the harsh reality that is gripping this country. And what better to find a way to take our minds off than the television networks.

About three weeks ago, we saw how far they'd go to entertain us by racing amongst themselves to deliver a Michael Jackson documentary.

The documentary, watched my millions around the country and by the thousands in St. Cloud (including myself) did nothing more than to prove that the once "King of Pop" has gotten even more wacko than before.

But let's be honest, we couldn't have been surprised by it. If nothing more, that documentary only revealed what had already been known to us for years. Lets face it. It was stale tabloid material.

But if it was old news, why did it gather such a large viewing audience? I would have to say it was because the documentary followed the formula practiced by every reality television series--humiliate real people on prime time television. This wasn't a show, it was a real man humiliating himself in front of millions of viewers.

Sadly enough, that's what we like.

Just take one look at any of the other reality shows. It's in this that we seem to have been finding some form of entertainment.

Ever since the war on terrorism began, the Bush administration has spoken about instilling our values to others in the world. Bush has often told us that countries where "bad" values are being practiced will need to change in order for all of us to live in peace. He has also condemned the values held in countries such as Iraq and Iran on countless occasions. He even says that a war with them would actually be a favor to the people of the region. Just the other day, a speaker on Bill Maher's show on HBO proclaimed that it was about time America changed all the wrong values practiced in the world and echoed Bush by stating that America would be doing the world a big favor.

But who are we to judge other people's values? We ourselves have succumbed to being entertained by the lowest possible form of entertainment. Many of us try to defend ourselves by remarking on how shallow contestants on reality shows, all without realizing irony of it all--that we're the ones who encourage it by watching it.

It's high time we start looking at ourselves before judging others. After all, someone like Osama bin Laden would only have to watch "The Jerry Springer Show" once to feel like he's doing America a favor.

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Ashwin Raman can be reached at [email protected]