Step right up! Step right up! Come one, come all for the most spectacular event you have ever laid two eyes on while your children mercilessly beg you for eighteen dollar cotton candy. That's right folks, for a limited time only you can see stuntmen break their necks, trapeze artists fall and get concussions or ride a giant animal that has no business performing whatsoever. You heard right everyone. It's time for a death-defying act that will leave you wondering why on earth you enjoy watching the pain and suffering of others. It's the lamest show on earth, and you have front row tickets! Circuses, extreme magic shows, horrifying stunts, and unsafe working conditions do not mix. Many of the physical stunts you see in live shows are, in fact, even more dangerous than the performer lets you know. No matter how trained one is, tempting death is never a good idea. Sure, it may look amazing, before you get bored and change the channel anyway. But is it really worth it to risk your life for the entertainment of a few? Do the people making the choices to swallow swords, breathe fire and nearly drown themselves really know the brevity of the situation? And, if they do, should they even be allowed to make such choices? We have crafted a society that is supposedly opposed to self harm, yet these dangerous acts are still heavily attended around the world, including western nations. The obvious response is to say that it's not about watching the person die, but I am not sure if that is entirely true. Every one of these shows is heavily publicized so it's not as if people do not realize the danger involved in the acts that they are paying for. Indeed, the danger involved is the whole reason people show up. Young children see and hear the cheering and adulation that is given to such performers. They are then influenced to pursue such careers. So, while you may think that this topic doesn't effect you, remember that your child may very well be training to join the circus or the Hollywood stunt crew without your knowing it, all because you took them to see some flaming idiot jump out of a plane or some such nonsense. Don't get me wrong. I don't care what you do. You want watch some tool cover himself in mayo and try to escape from a cube made of strawberry jello, go right ahead. I am much more concerned with the effects of such behavior on the mental state of the society, not the individual. For me, individuals are mostly harmless. Though serial killers exist, they are shockingly rare. Besides, performing is no crime. There is no need to make such things illegal. Further, I cannot tell these performers what to do with their bodies. We know all too well that restricting the ability of others to choose freely often inspires extremism, and the last thing we need are a group of circus performers and magicians storming the capitol. I would instead like to challenge society as a whole to do some serious thinking about why we enjoy such acts. Why is death, something we generally fear, seen as entertaining? I cannot stress enough that this is not a repudiation of these types of performances, but a questioning of their validity to our society. We like to pretend that we are far more sophisticated than the ancient Romans, who also watched death-defying acts in large stadiums. Why do we say we are superior when we do the same things or like the same events? Why do we consider ourselves superior to ancient civilizations when we borrow so heavily from their cultures? While preparing for this episode I watched several near death performances where the performers were either seriously injured or died, and one thing I can tell you is that, whether it be good, bad or inconsequential, ancient Rome is still alive and well in the Christian west. This leads one to question whether or not the Christian religion in any way changed human behavior after the fall of Rome. In my opinion, probably no so much. Image by Alexa Soh. Music by bensound.com