Buffoons, skanks and culture

I have friends who brag they never watch television. But I've always felt, to be part of and understand our culture, you have to sample. Some you may watch, some you may visit to get a taste. But to know who we are as Americans, there's no broader vista than television.

It's kind of sad to view.

I'm not suggesting television is all-encompassing, although from Discovery to M-TV and all in between, you get a pretty extensive set of choices. I guess my discouragement arises from how pervasive the lower rungs of our society are displayed, particularly in what is called reality.

In a more specific question, how can they find this many buffoons and skanks and why are they so popular?

Subquestions that lead to the big query:

1. Why is Terry Bradshaw doing sports analysis? He pretty much plays country bumpkin and yucks a lot.

2. Could Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Jim Carrey or David Spade make you laugh by appealing to your head instead of contorting, stumbling, playing a ridiculously broad and shallow character or appealing only to people who feel antisocial because pot isn't a part of everyday life?

3. Who are these throngs of women who want to twist tongues with yesterday's used up rock musicians like Bret Michaels?

4. Who are these women dying to join any household wired with television cameras so they can flounce and sleep with any moving object?

5. Who are these guys who join those houses and get their testosterone so flowing they can only express themselves screaming in tempter tantrums and with flying fists?

6. It's a been a few years since I've been to California, but is it possible the 20-something residents are that shallow, self-centered and simply stupid?

I'd like to deny it's a generational thing. The Three Stooges, Three's Company and even Beavis and Butthead weren't exactly enlightening. It's just the proliferation that makes me question right now.

Is this America? Does that "reflection" give insights into declining high school testing and graduation rates? Did someone slip something in the water? Maybe high school is just our training ground for the next generation of television stars.