Am I Out of Line Here?

Let me preface this post by saying that I think the people at Extreme Makeover: Home Edition do a wonderful thing. They help people have a better life and any act of generosity and caring for another human being is terrific.

With that out of the way, let me now say how much this show drives me insane. Like yelling at the television insane. Seriously. I can't stand it.

Part one of the primal rage comes from the insistence on calling at least one member of every home a hero. Last night, the mother of two sick children who painted murals in Children's Hospitals was a hero. Forgive me, but no. She's a wonderful human being who does fantastic things, but let's not toss around the word hero all willy-nilly. That guy who jumped into the Red River ten days ago to save a kid, he's a hero.

Phase two of the frustration stems from the general concept of the show itself and how it defines people in need. Yes, this family had a house full of mold and water damage, two daughters who were sick and they needed assistance. However, they don't need it as much as the people in the 9th Ward in New Orleans, all those Iowans whose houses got leveled by tornadoes last year or the thousands of homeless people in North America alone who could most certainly use a place to sleep at night.

Three - why so grandiose?

Giving them a place to live is one thing. Creating a palatial estate with top of the line everything and more indulgences than one house possibly needs is another thing. Sure, you want to make a beautiful home for them that solves their issues; granite counter tops, stainless steel everything and marble floors don't have any barring on a person's well-being.

I would say that easily $500,000 worth of materials, products and manpower went into creating last night's home and while it's wonderful for that particular family, I can't help but think how two $250,000 homes would have impacted more people. Or four, $125,000 homes. You get the picture...

So what do you say: Am I jaded and warped or what?