Reality TV, Me, You and Government Access Programming

American TV now abounds with programs under the rubric of "Reality TV". I have no idea whose reality they are referring to, but it is not my reality, and probably not yours, if can read these words. I do not regard competitions based on:

Who can eat the most disgusting things
Who can sing crappy songs better than others
Who can perform movements called "dance"
Who can run/crawl/slither/slide/yawl/drop/leap/etc faster
Who can complete the x-athlon in less/more time or whatever

as having anything to do with reality.
The most riveting reality TV for me is the local channel that is called in my area "Government Access Programming"
Here is democracy in action. It is our local zoning board. It is our local planning commission. It is our city council. It is real people, with real concerns, trying to make things better for themselves. I may not always agree with them - but I could also be there arguing with/against them, in a forum where I will be heard. I can rant and rave for/against the foreign policy of the US, France, Iran, Israel, or any other country on this blog, and feel that I am "making a difference". But I m not making a difference. All I am doing is venting my spleen.
According to Wikipedia

"The spleen is a ductless, vertebrate gland that is not necessary for life but is closely associated with the circulatory system, where it functions in the destruction of old red blood cells in holding a reservoir of blood. It is regarded as one of the centers of activity of the reticuloendothelial system. Until recently, the purpose of the spleen was not known. It is increasingly recognized that its absence predisposes to certain infections."

WTF do they know? I lost a dear and valued colleague to a senseless accident on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie 30 years ago. Robin from New Zealand was sideswiped by a bad driver, his spleen ruptured, and died with no warning in the Mid-Hudson Valley almost 12,000 miles from home.
So think about stopping your own venting, stop watching "Reality TV", watch your own local government TV channel, find the cause that impacts you, and go out and do something to make a real difference, not a reality difference