curiosity killed the cat

It's so disappointing what this world has come to, that reality shows have been taken to a new low. When did they pique? Because if Jersey Shore was the low (or high?), this is an unprecedented level. I am absolutely transfixed by NBC's upcoming show "The Marriage Ref," which stars such august actors like Jerry Seinfeld and Alec Baldwin to try to coax suffering husbands and wives back into a stable marriage using their therapeutic humor.

Is it a sinecure to them to boost their status? Why would anyone want to ostracize and mock the partners in failing marriages (who happen to be 50% of the population). However, in reality it is in no way an easy task to fix a marriage, and can certainly not be accomplished in the center of NBC's national spotlight. Maybe in a household or with a psychologist, none of which this show is providing for the couples. The sad thing is that people will watch this shows and laugh or cry or be indifferent. Meanwhile, it will be completely torturous for the "guests," who will be spilling all on a rather large stage. And it's not like the humor that will obviously be injected by the special host that night, will serve as an inoculation from the pain that strikes all people involved in that struggle. The show is completely bereft of tact and morality. It's all a comedy until you are actually personally involved and understand the situation. Honestly what is this show, a more legitimate Jerry Springer? But, not really because it's meant to actually solve problems, not ignite them. Whoever came up with this ingenuous concept should really be given some kind of medal (oh wait I believe that will be his/her large paycheck). I mean I know it's a choice to go on the show, but I can assure you the spouses don't realize what it is going to be when they first go on. No one can really know (including myself). I'm just assuming it's going to be this bad, because why wouldn't it be? It's such a touchy subject. Marriage is not necessarily resilient. Can we please keep our pride and not let the comedians of this century try to use the haunting thought of divorce as material for their latest gig? Yes, there is an exorbitant amount of couples that are struggling, but that does not give them the right to ridicule it. They should be upset and try to work on their OWN marriage. Let's just take an upsetting statistic and use that as a basis for our next show in which we will try to reduce the number of divorces by publicizing them. That really seemed to work for John and Kate when their personal lives aired on TV. I'm sure the celebrities involved are erudite about divorce and domestic hardships (how many times has Alec Baldwin been married? serious question). But, they just don't have the authority to attempt to cure marriage problems of regular citizens in such a blasé way, like they are on a talk show broadcasting about an upcoming movie. I think it's demeaning to the institution of marriage. And I'm not one of those people who believes in love lasting forever and perfect marriages, but I just think this wrong.