There are times when I believe that American politics and the Twilight Zone have many similarities. Let’s face it, when it comes to our politics and politicians, too many voters hear what they like and therefore vote for that politician even if what they have said isn’t true. I would like to think that in our modern electronic world of instant news the majority of those who vote would be so well informed that not one politician would be returned to office. Alas, maybe most of us face an ever-increasing electronic blast that the human brain cannot comprehend, an overload that sends many into the Twilight Zone.

What scares me the most is the number of voters I run into that know more about the so-called reality television shows and yet they cannot name one elected official at the local, state or federal level. Then there’s the group of voters that vote for a candidate because she is pretty or he is handsome. Now that ought to really improve the whole lot of us when it comes to decision time. Then there are those who just vote and don’t have a clue as to who they voted for and even worse, what that candidate stands for. It’s not that they can’t get information from television, newspapers or the Internet, I have to believe that they are far too busy watching reality shows on television; reality shows that have more in common with the Twilight Zone than real life.

Reality shows on television are something that I cannot fathom as entertainment. I have no clue as to what the show Lizard Lick Towing is about and I am certain it’s about as educational as a course from Pitzer College on how to learn to watch videos that are on YouTube. It’s certainly my opinion that if one needs to enroll in a college course to learn how to watch YouTube, they need to retake many high school (maybe even earlier) classes that would give them some basics to work with in order to become a more productive citizen.

There have been articles in the news recently stating that there are thousands of jobs that are vacant because workers have not received enough education and training to fill the vacancies. Of course, there’s the argument that businesses are trying to pass the cost of training to taxpayers instead of funding the education and training themselves. Or is it because too many Americans are busy watching reality television shows like Braxton Family Values, Hoarding-Buried Alive or Shipping Wars? Then there’s Moonshiners, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Gator Boys, Finding Big Foot, Storage Wars, Toddlers and Tiaras, Amish Mafia, Ghost Hunters and Face Off. Oh yeah, I almost left off Hillbilly Handfishing.

Maybe there should be other reality TV shows that would show the true face of American politics and politicians as well. Recent legislation passed by the U.S. Congress to stop us from going over the fiscal cliff and to provide emergency funds for the victims of Hurricane Sandy contained hundreds of millions of dollars in pork spending that had nothing to do with solving America’s problems. That leads me to think of titles of reality shows that could show all of America what really goes on in Congress. How about something like The Fool on the Hill? Or how about something like You Don’t Know What Congress Did Last Summer.

Things aren’t any better at the state or local levels either as some elected officials wouldn’t be good contestants on a show like Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader. Recently our president vacationed in Hawaii so I’m sure he must have watched Maui Fever. Members of Congress might learn how to get along by watching Meerkat Manor.

Lane Hiltunen, of Windham, can’t wait to watch a rerun of Return of the Fly with Vincent Price.