Sellin' Your Soul--That's a wrap!

By now, most of you have heard of the show, "Moment of Truth." If you haven't, it is a Reality TV game show in which contestants come on and answer extremely personal questions in front of millions, including their close family and friends. Prior to actually being taped for the show, the contestants were given lie detector tests about their personal lives. So when the questions get asked during the show, their answers and results from that lie detector test had already been recorded. In any event, they have to answer these questions in order to win money. The more money on the line, the harder the questions get.

On a recent broadcast of this voyeuristic show, a married woman was the contestant. Her husband, mom, dad and sister were there to offer support and interaction (intentional, of course, as they are referred to often in the questions). The show must really own some great shovels, as they dig up unfathomable amounts of dirt on these people.

So, back to the trainwreck, I mean show... The 26 year old housewife then proceeds to start answering "yes" or "no" to the questions. The first one was, "have you ever stolen money from a job?" "Uhhh yes", she quipped. And then she started clapping, and her parents and husband clapped, and the crowd roared their approval that the girl was a thief. HUH? Oh, they're only clapping 'cuz she got it right! Yes, that makes it okay then. Carry on!

The show then decided it was time to break up her parents. They asked her, "Do you have any secrets about your dad that your mom doesn't know about?" The parents then looked at each other like they had six eyeballs and snakes for hair. Of course the crowd erupted in applause, because her jackpot was on the rise.

At any given moment, the contestant can opt out and pocket the money, but our bubbly housewife wanted to keep playing. Her husband and family continued to egg her on to keep going as well, not cognizant of the damage that this game was inflicting upon them.

The next batch of questions had to do with her marriage... Oooooh you should have taken the money and ran! She then proceeded to answer YES to the following questions... 1. Are you mad at your husband? 2. Are you married to the wrong man? 3. Have you ever cheated on your husband while married? YES, YES, YES. I was instantly reminded of the good old Jerry Springer days when dirty laundry was on parade in all its glory.

So now that her marriage was over and her parents won't speak to each other, what else is there? Well there's the money, sweet, sweet money. All she had to do was answer one more question. And this question was an EASY one... "Do you consider yourself a good person?" She mulled it over for a bit, then said, "Yes, I think I am." HAHAHA! The crowd and I both erupted with laughter on that one. What planet does she come from? In any case, the correct answer, the answer that was officially recorded at her initial lie detector test was "NO." She answered YES and therefore got it wrong and lost every dollar she had earned by tearing her family apart.

Now a great many people are blaming the show for what it does. I, however, am not in that camp. These people KNOW what questions are going to be asked, so they know fully what they are getting into. It’s time for people to take some personal responsibility and stop looking for the easy way out. Are a few dollars and 15 minutes in the spotlight worth destroying relationships? In this woeful case, Karma was coming, and hell came along with it.