Lisa Carnley is managing editor of the Lampasas Dispatch Record. Reality television? Really?

It must be an alternate reality, because there’s nothing real there; not like any reality I have ever seen.

The television viewing public continues to be duped, and that’s because people willingly watch shows that vilify and exaggerate human behavior, allowing these TV “stars” -- and I use the term loosely -- to do or say anything they want while they earn outrageous sums of money as a reward for their bad behavior.

Why? Because the American public enjoys watching these people make total fools out of themselves on television. And as long as there is a viewing audience, these so-called stars get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars because product advertisers know people are watching.

Falling in and out of love at the drop of a rose? Being singled out because they are the daughter (or son) of famous people but have nothing to show for themselves?

Does the viewing public (or television network officials) know no boundaries? The longer we turn our television sets on to these shows and the longer we purchase the products the companies are hawking, the more we will be subjected to these people who are milking their five minutes of fame at our expense. It’s downright embarrassing.

Paris Hilton. What is she famous for? She has rich parents and has never worked a day in her life. Yet you can turn on the TV, and there she is.

Spencer and Heidi Pratt. What contributions have they made? Their most recent is a book they co-wrote about how to be famous -- or infamous, as the case may be.

How about those Kardashians? Who are they, and why would I want to keep up with them? To make matters worse, two of those sisters have another reality show, something about taking Miami. Well, they can have it, and Miami can have them.

And Tool Academy? No, it’s not another home-remodeling show. It’s about taking a crop of lowclass slugs and trying to make them “perfect” boyfriends. Is there such a thing? And why would these leopards want to change their spots?

What about Jon and Kate Plus Eight? It started off as a sweet show about a husband and wife who, after the birth of a set of twins, then had sextuplets. Early on, it was cute watching the family travel with 10 on an airplane and to the beach and an amusement park.

But it became unamusing when the Gosselins turned into typical reality TV personalities who let the money go to their heads. Fighting began, followed by a much-publicized bitter divorce, and more endless fights about money.

These ridiculous shows are crowding the small screen. The characters involved are either looking for love or attempting to co-exist in a sealed room for X number of days, or they work to prove to America they are the “average” family.

And what’s it for? Money. Just money.

They obviously have no pride, and that makes me wonder about the American viewing public. Are our lives so pitiful that we choose to watch these people make fools of themselves on television, or is it that we enjoy seeing other people wreck their lives because it makes us feel better about ourselves?

I can only hope their five minutes of fame lasts about four minutes and 59 seconds less -- and even that’s too long.