In a never-ending supply of lows, TV's newest contribution to the destruction of dignity, modesty, and compassion is on the Fox Network, entitled "
The Moment of Truth
." The basic concept is to have people admit to immoral, illegal, embarrassing, stupid, crass or just plain dumb behavior while attached to a "polygraph," which purports to determine whether the answer given by the contestant is "truthful." Truthful answers are rewarded by cash, up to a half-million dollars. It's sickening to see what some folks will destroy in their own souls and relationships for money - even a lot of money.The New York Times (
January 25, 2008
) described a scenario on the series' premiere show:
'Ty, a personal trainer, said 'yes' when asked if he has delayed having children because he is not sure that Catia, his wife of 2 1/2 years, would be his 'lifelong partner.' After he replied, a disembodied female voice delivered the verdict: 'The answer is....(long dramatic beat) TRUE!' The camera panned to Catia, who stopped smiling and murmured 'I'm dying here.' Her friend, April, turned to her and asked in a semi-whisper 'Is it worth $100,000 to learn that?'"Well, financially, it wasn't worth anything because when Ty was asked whether he had ever touched a female client more than was strictly necessary, his "no" was determined by the polygraph to be a lie, and he lost all his winnings
This is sick stuff. All truths ought not to be spoken.There is a new film out with a plot that I believe appropriately condemns society for caving into the basest part of human nature. There is a "bad" guy who murders people and puts their lingering, torturous death on the Internet live. The more people who log on....the faster and more horrific the victim's death. What happens? Well, more people log on. The parallel is inescapable. Shame on Fox, but more so, shame on us.
