Rewarding Bad Behavior

Have you ever had one of those moments in which although you knew things were heading in a bad direction, one thing hits you between the eyes and BAM!! It's all clear!! I've had a few of those moments as it relates to this subject, but this one takes the cake.

From 620WTMJ

NEW YORK (AP) -- Donald Trump boasted that the upcoming season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" is the best ever and promised the star power of its cast "blows `Dancing With the Stars' away."

Maybe the most interesting (to use Trump's pet adjective) participant is former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Vaulted to infamy by headlines and punch lines, he is charged with scheming to auction off President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat, campaign fundraising abuses and other offenses. He was removed from office last January, but has denied wrongdoing.

Ya know, I remember a time when being charged with multiple crimes was something to be ashamed of - not something which leads to becoming a celebrity. Today we have Blago - someone who allegedly was putting a senate seat up for sale, along with various and sundry other acts of corruption. Why does this not shock us?? Are we SO used to corrupt politicians that our first thought is "Hey - let's put him on a reality show"?

We have people like Kate Gosselin who, in my opinion, has exploited her children to the nth degree. Rumor has it that she's going to star in another reality show - looking for a husband.

We have the balloon boy and his family. We have Octomom. We have the Paris', the Brittany's and the Lindsay's. I remember back in the day, people had to actually possess of some sort of talent in order to become a celebrity, not just get in and out of cars showing the world their "goodies".

Why in the world to we celebrate bad behavior? The more society eats it up, the more people will do anything, including exploiting their children, to become famous. There is something inherently wrong with that.

If we stop watching these shows, if the media stops paying attention, maybe, just maybe, we can start to climb back up that slippery slope of decency.