Dancing with Who??

I watched in horror last night as Mark and Bristol were pronounced "Safe". That was so wrong. It meant that someone who actually could dance was leaving the show.

I like to watch Dancing with the Stars for the dancing. I certainly don't watch it for the "star" value. In fact, I think "dancing with the stars" is a bit of a misnomer. In all the years this has been on, you could probably count the number of "stars" on one hand.

While she may be good at the horizontal bop, Bristol Palin isn't a particularly good dancer. Which leads me to believe that she is winning the popularity contest because of who she is. And just who is she? A self-proclaimed redneck who's primary claim to fame is having had a child out of wedlock. Oh yeah, and she has a famous mother. If her mother hadn't been the vice-presidential nominee during the 2008 presidential campaign, it's not likely anyone would have heard of her. I've noticed that the show bills her as a "teen activist". If she'd been a little less active...never mind. And it's not just her. As near as I can tell from the magazines I pick up in nail salons and waiting rooms, MTV has a show called "Teen Mom", featuring unmarried girls who are pregnant. I'm sure there are girls who are trying to get pregnant just so they have a chance of being on TV. Back when I was a teenager, if you were pregnant you either got married quietly or you were sent on an extended "vacation". I'm glad we are less judgmental now. These girls and their children need the love and support of their families. They should not have to live in the shadows, but simply having a child out of wedlock should not elevate you to star status.

Pamela Anderson summed it up when she said that Bristol Palin had the Tea Party behind her. Which means that now politics has invaded every nook and cranny of my life. I can't turn on the radio or the television without being bombarded with politics. Many of my Facebook friends are busy "liking" and "sharing" their candidates' pages and taking pot shots at the other side. Some of what I see is funny. Much of what I see is offensive. If I want to avoid it (and I do), I'll need to shut off all media and bury myself in a novel. But perhaps instead of a debate, we could get the candidates to have a dance-off...

But there is an upside. Dancing with the Stars allows fans multiple votes online, on the phone and on Facebook. Multiple votes and multiple voting methods. The presidential election limits voters to one and only one vote. If only as many people were as enthusiastic about electing a president as awarding a mirror ball trophy...

(For the record, I have voted in every presidential election I have been eligible to vote in, except one and I have never cast a single vote for a Dancing with the Stars Contestant.)