Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back and drain your mind of all thought. And there you are watching the bubbles in the primeval ooze. You don't have to concentrate. You don't have to react.You don't have to remember. You don't miss your brain because you don't
need it. Your heart and liver and lungs continue to function normally. Apart from that, all is peace and quiet. You are in the man's nirvana. And if some poor nasty minded person comes along and says you look like a fly on a can of garbage, pay him no mind. He probably hasn't got the price of a television set. -Raymond Thornton Chandler, writer (1888-1959)
The guy who said that, as you may have noticed, died in 1959. I'm amazed at how little has changed since then. Truly, we have the Discovery channels, History, health, and all sorts of learning networks. But do these channels negate the above?
I've noticed a pattern in my own viewing time. For one I rarely watch tv. I never seek out a show to watch. If I watch, in other words, it's because it happens to be on and something catches my eye. The next thing I noticed is that I extremely rarely sit in front of the tv with nothing to do. I take my bills or my laundry or an article I'm reading or Sunday school material I must study or ad infinitem. I cannot stand the sensation of "wasting" time I get from watching television. I'll do nothing if I'm with at a friend's house but not when I'm at mine. If I'm truly worn out, like coming in from working with youth all day or whathaveyou, I may collapse in front of a movie my daughter wants to watch. (She's a huge fan of Shirley Temple.)
It's hard for me to fathom the time slipping away and why anyone would want to do that.
I'm not a work-a-holic. I love naps and playing with my daughter. I enjoy plenty of things. But TV seems like a waste of mind. Am I the only "nut" out there like this? What is TVs place in our lives? To show us its share of the 3000 pieces of advertising we see each day? (And that's NOT an exageration.) How does TV improve your life?