The Moment of Truth

Tonight is another episode, of one of my favorite shows, Fox's The Moment of Truth. The objective of this game show, is that for you telling the truth on 20 questions you receive a jackpot of up to $500,000 dollars. So what they do is gather information about a person's life, from that contestant, from the friends and family, and sometimes co-workers of the contestant. With that information, they make 50 yes or no questions, then ask that contestant those questions, while they are on a lie detector machine. Then they chose 20 of the juiciest questions and answer to ask them, on the show, in front of their closet family and friends, on T.V. It's usually those kind of answers to questions, you normally would never get.

I think I love the show, because it is absolutely something I personally could never do, even really for money. I have started to develop, in my opinion some serious skeletons, that I could never unleash on television. Now I think that it is that old philosophy, that people love to watch a train wreck. You hate to see it happen, but you can't turn your eyes from it. The juicier the question and answers the more you are intrigued. During the winter season, that was a lot of publicity about a contestant, who probably ruined her marriage, over $100, 000, because of a question about, whether she wonders if she should have married her ex instead of her current husband. Her answer was yes I believe.

The show is filled with questions like that. Questions that you are sure people have asked themselves several times, and even thought it. However most would never admit it, unless the marriage ended, or something of that nature. They are so many choice thoughts, that people second guess about others in their life also, but would never vocalize. Like one girl was asked once, the question... Did she think her best friend who was a musician, and wanted badly to be a professional musician had what it takes to go professional...now even though, I'm sure she went to most shows and gave much support and encouragement,to her best friend, over the years, her honest answer was No. The friend looked devastated. The premise of the show, is how truthful are people really?

What gets me sometimes, is when they have a contestant, who is willing to tell the truth no matter what, to get the money, they are described as, their most cold hearted contestant yet. They won't stop at nothing or don't care who they hurt, to get to the jackpot of $500, 000. I get that that's a marketing ploy to get people to watch more, or to tune into next week, but there is something to that theory. That's the same thing that is in real life. When you have somebody, who is honest to the bone, with no barriers, about themselves, but especially about others; they are not usually just considered really honest and truthful. They are usually considered or portrayed as cold hearted, brutally honest, bitches, or just plain ass holes.

As children, we are taught they honesty is the best policy. That you should never lie, cheat, or steal... and so on. However, most are also taught, that if you DON'T have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. So in my opinion most people grow up to be so conflicted, as to be truthful, yet don't saying anything that isn't nice. To save people's feelings, lives, or to just save lives from being too hate and anger filled.

This brings me back to my lifestyle, and the fact that so many are against the fact that someone, lies about their sexual orientation. But the fact is, that so many of us have secrets, and unexposed thoughts, that we hide, even from our most loved ones. They even started to get to that once with one contestant. They went to int questions, like had he ever watched more than a few minutes of gay porn, and had he ever had sexual feelings about his best friend, a guy who was part of his friends and family on the show. He was truthful about yes to the porn and no about the feelings towards his best friend. He may have been right about the friend, but that doesn't mean he had had sexual feelings about another man. What things are you hiding, that if you were placed on a lie detector machine could devastate someone in your life.

On the show the family and friends of the contestant has one time option, to replace a question, that they think, the answer could be devastating, or to much irrevocable damage. One simple yes or no answer, that could change their lives, or the way they see that person ever again. I've seen it twice. Once was a guy, who had so much hurt against his mother, who for years didn't like his wife, or even approved of the marriage, because they married so young. He still had hidden animosity towards her for not even showing up to the wedding or wearing black or something..I can't remember. When the questions were becoming so hurtful to the mother, his kids stopped the questions. Even though on the surface it seemed that he had moved on from those feelings from 20 years previous, he still had un-vocalized secret feelings. Another time was about a guy who may have stolen form the family business, his brother stopped the answer, before the contestant could answer. Even if they asked them off the air, the real answer, you would never no for sure if he was telling the truth.

It all comes down to one thing for me... Would people rather be blissfully ignorant about the people, in their lives, or sorrowfully in the light about things? Could you handle or others handle that moment of truth. I'm not so sure, anymore, especially about myself.

UPDATE:

Well I just finished watching tonight's episode of, The Moment of Truth. I have so far received several comments on this post so far.Which I appreciate, every single one of them. Somethings I would like to address, on later, in a future post.

Tonight there was two contestants one being a EMT. Who from the first question to the last I thought was an absolute asshole, because of his answers. From him being a fat people hating person in the medical field, and not washing his hands all the time, to the fact that he is ashamed of his religion of being a moron, yet would never marry his Jewish girlfriend...who by the way thinks has a nice personality but not the prettiest girlfriend he has ever had. I mean every answer made him look worse and worse. I don't think I have ever heard the audience boo as much as they did to him and his answers. The second contestant didn't make it as far, and actually lost $10,000 on a question , that after 13 years of marriage, has she lost some sexual attraction for her husband. I knew she was going to get this wrong on the mere fact, that she kept repeating the question, as if she was trying to convince herself, that she had not lost any attraction towards her husband.

The bases of this post, was to talk about, What is the real cost of the truth? I'm not even talking about being on the show, but more so in life generally. Are we even being honest with whether we want the truth form our selves or others. Could you handle hearing that your spouse has lost some sexual attraction toward you, or that the man you love, doesn't think you are the best looking thing he has dated. Or if you found out the sexual history or past of a love one, could you handle the truth?

This all gets me thinking about something new shocking revelations about someone in my family...f.y.i. not me, but someone in my family. After hearing all of the nasty details, my mother for instant, said she still loved that family member to death, but could never, ever seem them in the same light. She was not the only one to feel this way. Brings me back to...Is it better to be blissfully ignorant on the truth or sorrowfully in the light, on the truth?