Only once was I able to sit through a so-called reality show. However, the teaser media ads and the in-depth interviews of various "reality" show participants by the ever brilliant and inquiring minds of early morning and late night TV personalities have minimally contributed to my knowledge of this recent phenomenon in cultural development. Maybe these shows are real to the participants. As I've eavesdropped in shopping malls and at church, obviously they are real to many Davis County residents. The sunburns, board rooms, embarrassments, immorality, the gooey-worms, blind unthinking adulation of the masses, the bugs, the "rocky mountain oysters", the deviance, creepy spiders, the creepy people and the sloppy swallowed brains are indeed all too real.

The producers, directors, studios and minions who surround them have delightfully found that the cash that freely flows from these shows is also very real.

But beyond all that reality, I know nothing about "reality" shows is really real. Every- thing in them is either fully scripted, or specifically structured so actions of the participants are predictable, safe and profitable to the producers.

Unlike life, the dangers presented therein are all managed and in ultimate control. They are made simply to attract the mindless dollar.

"Escapist" is a much more accurate word when one contemplates the state of TV "reality" today. By spending untold hours with the boob tube many in our younger generation now really believe that they are participating in life, when indeed they are developing skills sufficient only to make them malleable and mindless robots.

Thankfully there remain pockets of intellectual curiosity and self reliance within the borders of this once great nation. These individuals are usually way too busy to spend much time watching "reality" shows. These outstanding young people will make math, history, science, music and other "antiquated" subjects the guiding reality to take their life far beyond the mindless discussions of "who will get kicked off next week?"

At least when Ed Sullivan and Dean Martin did their variety shows the kids had something that they could realistically attempt to duplicate. Try that as an Apprentice or a Survivor.



A Davis County mortgage and real estate broker, Nichols is dedicated to preserving the "American dream" for his 24 grandchildren through conservative principles.