Cool - the young rebellion is the trend. I can't imagine what it will be when me kids are in HS and College. Would I want them into the classics or math or poetry? Nope - too geeky. I would hope some day that they would have an appriciation but I would perfer that they gently pursue the trends of their day and not to go crazy or over commit (peircings, tats, pink hair mo-hawks).

I don't think it's just a kid rebellion thing any more. This country, as of late, has been glorifying trash culture like never before. Nowadays it seems that everything from television to political speeches is targeted to the lowest common denominator of all races. The elite no longer rule the roost in America. Besides, a good percentage of them have been leaving anyway. As a result you can be assured that there is something on TV at all hours to appeal to the lowest of the bunch within your race, color or creed. People love tacky trash culture here. Where I live you cannot drive for five minutes before running into at least a couple of white folks driving H2's on ghetto-approved dubs. Or wait too long before seeing a few tramp stamps at the country club. So even the thirty or forty something well-to-do folks want to look like pimps or whores. Or try to live out outlaw rebel biker fantasies in order to make up christian repression during childhood. The country loves trash culture. Or the bible. You choose. Just turn on Discovery Channel. It seems ages ago when the programming was mostly science and history based. Forget that highbrow stuff. It's build a bike, pimp my ride, tattoo my ass time.

As for you Victor, be glad that you don't live in this trash culture loving dump. Be glad that you don't have to live in a country of extremists who blame every problem on the other extremist while you sit in the middle and wonder WTF is going on or what happened to common sense. Just stop watching this American crap. Every time I can get to my apartment in Brazil, the first thing I do is turn on the TV and relax. It's nice to be able to watch real, unfiltered world news, and the best part, no NASCAR. You are in Australia so the same and quit watching this junk.

Ed, that is some awesome writing. I may even get it tattoo'd on my back or airbrushed on my chopper. ;)

I know what you mean about leaving the country. I recently spent some time at my sisters house in Munich - TV really is something totally different away from all the "Dumbaficationizing" channels.

yeah, watch a few hours of typical american programming and you begin to 'stupider and stupider..' :D and i'm sick to death of 'reality tv'..but the crap is so cheap to produce and such a moneymaker for the networks and cable channels, that it's gonna be a lonnnnnng time before its incursion begins to recede. follow the $$ theough..something perfectly awful will likely take its place once ratings begin to sour..
ryan