Don't let me fall.

Why are we obsessed with watching people fall?

Reality television has been dominating networks since Y2K. But that style of television has seemed to evolve towards embracing shows that show the failures of others. People with drug habits go on Intervention. People with weight issues go on Heavy or the Biggest Loser. We can't get enough of watching people at their lowest point.

Why is it fascinating to us? Is it because we realize we're a few bad decisions away from that person? Is it because we're so insecure with our own lives, we'd rather watch as others lives tumble around us?

I watched Hoarders the other night with Joel and the only reaction we both had was "how could these people do something that stupid?" One man had so much stuff on his two acres of land, he wasn't able to get into his own home. Instead he would sleep in the only ten feet of room left in a camper on his property. And I couldn't look away. His failure and misery was my entertainment. It's cultures entertainment.

Pain, suffering and, yes, failure is our favorite entertainment of choice.

Personally one of my biggest fears is failure. No one wants to fail. We all hate that feeling of not being thin enough, pretty enough, rich enough, talented enough, etc. Does watching a show about obese people make me feel better about being thinner? Does a show about people with drug problems make me feel good inside because I don't have a drug issue? No, not really. But it's not me, I'm not the one failing. They are. 

Lady Gaga was recently interviewed and she said something that stuck with me. She said that people would like to see her die. Why? Because she's a worldwide celebrity and a pop music icon. Society would love to see her dissolve just as fast as she rose to stardom. We love to watch them fall, right? Britney Spears having a nuclear meltdown, Christina Aguilera on a downward spiral and Charlie Sheen going postal. It's our obsession.

Society is so sick that we'd rather watch the failures of other people than make something of ourselves. Maybe that's why our education system is in crisis, we've got moral decay across the board and our government is as corrupt as it's ever been. It's all our fault and we could care less. Show us someone else failing, we want to be entertained. 

Give us politicians in sex scandals, celebrities in rehab, ordinary people in crisis. But don't let us fall.

We're just bored. And they're just interesting.