The Sociology of Insecurity

Why do people watch Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Hoarders, Jersey Shore, 16 and Pregnant, Wife Swap, etc.? Much of it comes from insecurity (I don't mean to judge every person who watches these shows. If you find these shows entertaining and a good self-esteem, that's fine.) The gap between the rich and the poor is staggering. We are constantly exposed to luxury and glamour that we can't obtain. We feel like deadbeats when our neighbor has the latest sports car model, and we're still driving our mom's old sedan. We see incessant advertising to the effect of "It's the best" or "This is better than mother's cookies." We can't always be the BEST at everything, but we can at least feel BETTER by looking down on others (changing from absolutes to relatives). It's pretty discouraging, but it explains why a lot of television, film, and other media have been dumbed down.
However, by doing this, we decline the opportunity to improve ourselves as human beings and as contributors to society. While many Americans continue to believe that America is the greatest country in the world (even when it's lacking the optimism, cooperation, and sacrifice of the Greatest Generation), as individuals we are coping with uncomfortable insecurities. We raise children to have high self-esteem and believe they are special, but at the same time they enter into a world that tells them they are anything but. These are strange dichotomies, and this is definitely an issue each of us must address going forward. If each of us improve ourselves -- and we are by no means perfect, myself included -- we end up improving the nation as a whole a little bit. We have to give each other and ourselves a little tough love every now and