In the antiquated notions department, you will find a lot of things that used to be commonplace, but are now widely ignored or considered to be ridiculous.  A couple of examples of this might be the courtesy of removing your hat indoors or maybe a gal “getting pinned” by her favorite guy, things that used to happen all the time, but now no one even thinks about.  How about church on Sunday?  When’s the last time YOU went?  Heathen.

Sure, things fade into and out of fashion all the time, but perhaps the most surprising loss over the past ten or fifteen years is our dignity.  Maybe you still have some, maybe you know someone who does, but overall, our society has lost its dignity and, along with it, modesty and shame.  Nowhere is this more apparent than on television – specifically, shock TV.  Today’s big gameshow question is, “What would you do for money?”

When asked, some people apparently respond with, “Anything!” as can be witnessed regularly on Fox.  I probably shouldn’t pick on the Fox Network since all the other broadcasters and cable networks are doing the exact same thing, but Fox was on of the early adopters of this ratings boost tactic.  And technically, we should be looking a little closer to home since, if we don’t tune in, the ratings slump and the show dies.  “Give them what they want” is corporate TV’s motto – and evidently, we want to see people lose their dignity and behave poorly.

Fear Factor (an NBC program and no longer on the air after a six-year run) asked contestants to, in an effort to win $50,000, perform stunts which were designed to invoke “fear”.  Sure, fifty grand is nothing to shake a stick at, but performing scary stunts were not all that these people were asked to do.  At least one “stunt” in each show involved either being immersed into something utterly disgusting or, more often, eating something utterly disgusting.   Sheep eyeballs one week, live spiders the next, goat testicles, liquefied earthworms, deer penis, pig uterus, cow snouts (with the hair still on them), live cockroaches – the list was endless.  How many of you would eat a pig’s uterus for $50,000?  After taxes, you might end up with $30,000.  Is that what your dignity is worth?

Well, thirty grand is a good chunk of change, don’t get me wrong.  And I might consider forcing something horrid down my gullet for that kind of money, but not in front of an audience of millions.  There are a lot of things we do behind closed doors that we wouldn’t want broadcast around the world – even for a big pile of money.  “Why not?”  Dignity, modesty and shame are why not.  And if you have to ask, you should try out for one of these shows – you could win a lot of money.

A relatively new entry in this dignity-stripping trend is “Moment of Truth”.  A brainchild of the Fox Network, this show involves asking a contestant 50 very personal questions while attached to a lie detector.  This happens prior to the taping of the show.  When the contestant is introduced, they are then asked 21 of those 50 questions again and they must answer honestly based upon the earlier questioning session.  This by itself isn’t such a big deal – if you don’t mind being completely honest about your life, you can win half a million dollars.  The catch is that the contestant is not alone – they are accompanied by family and friends and the questions often revolve around these people. 

“Do you think your mother secretly wants to have sex with your husband?”

“Do you resent your children because you couldn't pursue a singing career?”

“Have you cheated on your husband in the past year?”

“Do you ever wish your wife was prettier?”

“Do you feel your boyfriend is inadequate in bed?”

Lie about any one of them, and you go home.  Clearly, the questions are aimed to hurt the friends and family far more than the contestant.  And oftentimes, the person being questioned seems more than happy to keep pounding away at their “loved ones”.  Modesty?  We’ll have none of that here.  Dignity?  Leave it at the door.  Scruples?  Most of them would need a dictionary to define it.  Public humiliation?  Oh, yes, please - can’t seem to get enough of that!

So what happened to our values system?  Today’s young adults seem to make up 85% of the contestants on these “do-what-you-must-to-win-some-money-regardless-of-the-consequences” TV shows.  Have they been taking their cues from the morally bankrupt programming they grew up watching in the 80’s and 90’s?  Where is their sense of decency?  Where is their moral fiber?  I’d ask where their dignity is, but they left it backstage with their shame.  Oh, but they do have $30,000.  Which, of course, will be gone in less than a month.  Let’s hope the sting of what they had to do to get that money lasts a little longer – it certainly will for their family and friends.