Television: The Worst Invention in the History of Mankind
I've given this a lot of thought and although I have spent countless hours being "entertained" by TV, I think it has led us astray. I admit I'm starting to sound like my father but at 40, shouldn't I?
The Time Robber
What else could we be doing instead of watching TV? Are we truly spending quality time with our family when no one talks to each other? How many times will the kids actually watch the exact same program - apparently as many as their parents will let them. How about business? What else could we be doing to move ourselves forward? Not to mention sleep. How many of us get an hour or two less sleep just to watch TV?
Useless Consumerism
Of course we are consumers. We do need to spend money on products that we truly need; food, clothes, transportation to do our jobs and live our lives, but what kind of products we buy is drastically affected by TV. Commercials create the illusion of image related to a product. How many people think they need more than they truly do?
Lowest Common Denominator
The first time I saw the Jerry Springer show I was shocked. I felt that giving any attention to those who push the boundaries of acceptable behavior in a civil society only created more of the same people. They think its OK since they saw it on TV.Of course Springer was just the beginning.
Contributor to Rampant Negativity
Now I realize I should be pointing the finger at myself here too (since this is a bit of a negative rant) but tell me the last time you saw more than one positive story in a half hour on the news. We've all heard the tagline, "If it bleeds it leads." What does that do to the collective psyche of the world? Not to mention the messages of the shows we watch. When I was growing up, the shows had a positive message but now I'm hard pressed to find any message at all.
Political Wild Card
Who wins the race these days? The person with the most money, it's as simple as that. And what do candidates buy with all of that money? TV ads! If it's not a candidate it's a political action committee (PAC). Where do think most of this money comes from? Is it a whole bunch of people giving $25 or $100 or even $1,000? Nope, it's businesses and massively rich individuals giving millions. What do you think they expect for all that money? This isn't confined to one party, it's both and they're responding like a moth to a flame because it works.
The Greatest Generation
For those of us in middle age (younger baby boomers and Generation X) these were our grandparents. They survived the Great Depression, fought WW II and built the United States into a great nation. Guess what? They didn't have TV. At least not until they were well into adulthood. Think about that. Could that be a contributing factor to their astounding character, work ethic, and drive to succeed for the betterment of their children?
I had to get this off my chest. There are some really great things TV can give us but I'm not so sure that what it takes away makes it no longer worth it.
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