Better ways of feeling good about yourself

Someone recently told me that watching television shows like The Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives of Wherever makes people “feel better about themselves.” I suggested the same argument could also be used to defend slavery, public executions and the mandatory defrocking of the obese.

More importantly, I added that reading a book, listening to a favorite song or writing an old-fashioned letter to a loved one might also be an effective way of feeling good about oneself, and none of these options make you feel so sleazy as to require a shower afterward.