The Moment of Truth

How far would you go to get half a million dollars?
Far enough to hurt your spouse?
Your parents?
Your siblings?
Your friends?

The Moment of Truth is a game show I've been following on every Wednesday on Star World.

Prior to the show, a contestant is hooked up to a polygraph and asked more than 50 questions. Without knowing the results of the polygraph, he or she is asked 21 of those same questions again on the program.

If the contestant answers honestly, according to the polygraph results, he or she moves on to the next question; however, should a contestant lie in his or her answer (as determined by the polygraph) or simply refuse to answer a question after it has been asked, the game ends.

There are 6 tiers to the game. I'm not sure the one I'm watching, is it season one of the show or the 2nd season, 'cos apparently, the rules are slightly different for the 2 seasons.

For the one that I'm watching, the rules were: -
If he/she gives a false answer at any point in the game, he/she leaves with nothing.
For each tier of questions answered correctly, the contestant wins the corresponding amount of money.
A contestant may stop at any time before any question is asked and collect the money he or she has won.
Although a person may stop after any question, once they hear the question, they must answer it or the game is over.
Answering all 21 questions truthfully, as determined by the polygraph results, wins the jackpot of $500,000.

The questions vary, increasing in difficulty and degree of personal nature of the questions. To date, no contestant has reached the final tier. To make the atmosphere tense, friends, colleagues and families are present on the show, sitting just few meters away from the participant. So he/she is telling the truth right to their faces.

Sometimes I wonder what is their actual motive behind their participation in the show. To win the money? Or to embarrass their loved ones on national TV? Many ended up bad in their relationship with their loved ones after the show (occasionally there are updates of the participants few weeks later) . Mainly due to the truthful answers to questions like,

"If you knew you wouldn't get caught, would you sleep with another man?"
"Do you think your spouse is your best sex partner?"
"Have you ever stolen money from your family business?"
"Have you ever been paid for sex"
"Have you at any point regretted marrying your spouse?"
"Do you think your dad is a honest man?"
"Do you blame your parents for your unhappy childhood?"
"Have you ever knowingly committed something that could cause you to lose your job?"
so on and so forth.....

And the above questions usually come on the 2nd or 3rd tier... Can you imagine the questions that were going to be asked as he/she gets nearer to the $500,000?!

Some ended up with no money after they had done a significant amount of hurt to their loved ones, because of one small lie. They get no money and had lots of explanation to give after the show. Many broke down on the show....What's the gain then?

Like the host (Mike Darnell) said, this show is easy to people who do not have secrets. But how many of us, can live up to a life of complete honesty? Do you think YOU could be the ONE who would breeze through the 25 questions and win the $500,000? Would you even have the thought of going for the game?