Lately I have become found myself drawn to the VH-1 reality show Sober House and/or Celebrity Rehad. I find addiction fascinating, and something about washed up celebrities willing to air struggles on TV for a quick buck piqued my interest. I think it will be interesting to see if there is any success in this show like The Biggest Loser, or will it become a mockery like The Bachelor? I find myself rooting for these "characters" and scared when they fall off the wagon. I actually cared if Seth "Shift" Binzer was going to be found by his friends when he went on an acid-herion-ectasy-valium binge. I like Mary Cary, hard core porn star with the heart of balerina wanting desparately to be loved but only surrounding herself with people who see her has a piece of a**. I want Steven Adler to get it right. I find myself hoping Nikki McKibben will come to grips with her mother's addiction and use her music for cartharsis. I'm so glad Andy Dick finally seems serious about sobriety.
I think I really like this show because I have watched, first hand, addiction destroy a family. I watched as someone drank their way to the end of a bottle night after night looking for peace, but never realizing the peace was within them. Addiction is terrible, but was is most intriguing is the co-dependency. Most addicts can't be addicts without the people around them making it easy for them to stay addicts (whether it is through purchasing it for the addict, making excuses, providing the monetary means, or belittling the addict so they never feel good about themselves). Part of me sees addiction as a ravaging disease, but it is a disease of choices.
Wrapping my mind around addiction and understanding it the tough part. In the midst of physical addition I understand not being able to break the cyle, but once the physiological aspect is broken I don't understand why addicts don't fight like hell to stay sober.
On a light note...
Also, has anyone else noticed that TLC (The Learning Channel) has really become a televised freak show? It isn't just the subject matter, but it is the titles too: "The Two Ton Teen" or "Tree Man". There was a time in our country when people who were different or disabled could make a living by being exploited by the freak show. They would have to leave their home and family to make a living. Today, these modern "freaks" don't even have to leave the comfort of their home. The cameras come to them. So if it isn't a family with 8 or 17 kids or a man with tree-like limbs, it will be a the world's smallest people or a two ton family. I wonder what is says about us as a culture if we are still willing exploit these people to satiate our curiosity? Have we really evolved into a more accepting culture or can we just hide it behind closed doors now?
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