Record numbers of people tuned in to watch the finale of "Joe Millionaire." Many also watched other "reality shows" like "The Bachelorette" and "American Idol." Our appetite for backstage passes into the lives -- albeit orchestrated -- of the shows' protagonists is insatiable. While these shows are entertaining, they demonstrate a clear departure from tastefulness and morality.Our desire for reality programming is not new, and the visual media have indulged our desires while pushing the envelope of decency. One of the first films portrayed a then-risqu kiss between a man and a woman. "The Kiss" (1896) was greeted with harsh criticism because of the moral hazard it posed to women and children. The same was said of dating shows when they became en vogue in the 1960s. The criticism became even louder with "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?" (2000) -- the institution of marriage was in jeopardy then, and now it is only getting worse; FOX's recently-announced "Married By America" poses a moral hazard to this country.

"Married By America" is not radically different from shows like "Joe Millionaire," but that is the point. Each show adds a new twist, stretching the bounds of tastefulness and morality to the extreme -- this is a slippery slope in action. "Married By America" is worse than all its predecessors by a long shot because its twist doubly trivializes the institution of marriage. Not only will two people be engaged on national television, but they will not have previously met. FOX took the most intimate aspects of human interaction, and democratized it. Only the two people in question can determine their compatibility; not their friends and family, and certainly not the American people.

Even if one does not believe that "Married By America" -- or the myriad of other reality shows -- is directly responsible for moral decline among adults, we must remember that younger viewers, who take their cues from television, do not understand the absurdity of having America determine the fate of two people. How can a young viewer believe that marriage is sacred when "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?" and "Married By America" trivialize the institution?