Let's get one thing clear immediately: This is not a post about who's right and who's wrong in the Jon and Kate business. Unfortunately, that will be hashed out ad nauseum over the next 24 hours on talk shows and "news" shows. On this we can all agree: It is tragic when a marriage crumbles, no matter the reason.
Yet it's abundantly clear not all Americans would agree that what is happening to a family in Pennsylvania is not the most important news of the day. On the contrary, the world is seemingly standing still while the public at large watches another marriage fall apart.
Except, of course, that the world is not standing still. There is an historic uprising in the most influential player in the Middle East; the President of the United States is making cryptic remarks about the future of health care in this country, to name a few pressing matters.
Countless other items of endlessly more consequence are occurring before our eyes, yet America chooses to spend its time watching the nation's divorce statistics padded. Health care didn't just take a back seat to Jon and Kate, it was placed in a horse trailer dragged by a 50-foot rope (see fourth and fifth posts here). On Twitter, the once-dominant "#iranelection" trending topic was surpassed by "Jon and Kate" while the climactic episode aired. Much earlier in the day, Jon and Kate had passed up trends on "Neda," the iconic Iranian woman brutally murdered by government forces.
What's most upsetting is I'll bet most of you who read the preceding paragraph were not surprised by it. That may be statement enough. It's not that no one is allowed some down time to decompress in front of the television, but it seems to me perspective is in order, and - if I may indulge in some high-horsemanship - this perspective is sorely lacking for many people.
It is not lost on me that misery loves company, and the state of marriage in this nation is such that many Americans can relate very closely with the Gosselins. The fact they're on television does not make Jon and Kate's divorce any more tragic. As in all dissolutions involving children (whether eight or one), the real victims are the young people who have no say in the matter, and can't understand why mommy and daddy don't live together anymore.
The final verdict, in my view, is at least a partial indictment of the media machine. Because my wife watched the show from its early days, I can say with some certainty that this stopped being a series about a family meeting everyday challenges amidst unique circumstances at least a couple years ago. When it became an exercise in publicity for tourist destinations, cross-promotion for other shows, and a thinly-veiled cash cow for TLC, its raison d'etre ceased. Yet it continued, to a family's peril, because ratings and revenue soared.
Would the Gosselins' marriage have survived absent the constant stress of life in front of the camera? We'll never know. And my guess is most people really don't care. What else is on?
You feel me?
AF
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