Blogs by Flo Fitzpatrick
Reality
1/12/2026 4:39:36 AM
When “reality” TV shows like Survivor and Big Brother first appeared in the mid-90s I remember thinking, “This isn’t going to end well.” As an actress and a writer I could tell that what was about to pass as entertainment was not exactly a fine art. As a person who tries to live life with decency and an effort to follow the Golden Rule I worried that these shows were extolling selfishness and lack of regard for one’s fellow humans as virtues.
I freely admit I never watched The Apprentice or Celebrity Apprentice. Just the promos inserted as commercials during other shows made me nauseous. How anyone could enjoy watching Donald Trump screaming “You’re Fired !” was beyond comprehension. And knowing that a racist, uncultured, immoral, narcissistic con man (I lived in NYC long enough to witness his depravity) was being turned into a god-like celebrity was terrifying.
Fast forward to 2026. (I write time travel. I can do this!) I read several news stories yesterday noting that young males (mostly white) who’d previously been “all-MAGA” were starting to spit out the Kool-Aid and, consequently, approval ratings for Trump were plummeting.
Good news, right? But then, I read the “whys”. The primary reason was economic. Trump had failed to deliver on lowering prices and taxes. Rents and mortgage rates were high. They also cited not wanting to be forced into another war.
What was disturbing was that, apart from some who weren’t thrilled that the Epstein files hadn’t been delivered as promised (believing that this would expose tons of high-ranking Democrats) the reasons for their disillusionment with MAGA was, while understandable (none of us like seeing our grocery bills rise) ultimately selfish. There didn’t seem to be outrage about ICE lawlessness and cruelty, or the pardons of criminals like the January 6th insurrectionists, or murders on the high seas, or the fact that more than 100 innocent people lost their lives during the bombing in Venezuela. No discussion of how the Trump administration is actively destroying the environment. Of how education is considered a low priority. Of children going hungry thanks to lack of SNAP benefits or the wave of childhood diseases that will turn into a tsunami if someone doesn’t counter RFK Jr.’s horrific “health” policies.
None of the above.
Many were actually pleased with MAGAs determination to ruin the lives of those who identify as transgender…it appears their masculinity is threatened. Even the idea of not going to war was more a “save my own skin” reaction as opposed to the idea that heading around the world to kill other human beings was, in a word, wrong.
I can’t blame everything on the rise of reality TV or the creation over the last decades of media idols as “leaders.” But the concepts it exemplified did take root in the minds of millions. Always fight for number one, no matter at whose expense. Selfishness taken to the 9th level. Celebrity is everything and if you worship at the shrine of a media idol, your own life will be better. Perhaps most frightening, if a TV personality tells you something, no matter how outrageous, you can believe them.
America is in sore need of reassessing what we’re teaching the next generations. Of who we choose to be our heroes. Of how to distinguish lies from the truth.
For the sake of the country. For the sake of survival.
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