Why is it that every time I think that I’ve finally made my peace with how monumentally, brain-numbingly stupid entire swaths of the general public are, some new poll or scientific study comes out to prove with mathematical certainty and scientific rigor that things are so much worse than I could have imagined? Did you know that more than half the country thinks Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing is a “realistic” portrayal of the world? And nearly 40 percent say the same thing about NBC’s Parks and Rec — a show in which Chris Pratt doesn’t try to lecture someone about conservative Christian morality!

I think we can all agree, regardless, that the most realistic show ever aired is obviously Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Sure it may have featured faster-than-light spaceships and impossible adventures in the furthest reaches of imaginary outer space, but at least had the good sense to ground itself in a future predicated largely on people using the most advanced technology of their era to get their rocks off. If that’s not realism, I don’t know what is.

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