Television

     When I was a kid, my parents told us stories about themselves, their parents, and as much as they knew about their family histories.  They told us what life was like when they were children, about their years in school, how they met, fell in love, got married, and the births of their children.  They told us about their difficult struggle during the Great Depression era of our nation, about the nighttime blackouts our country  faced during World War II, and the rationing of items during the war, which included simple household staples such as sugar and coffee.
     Storytelling has been common in families for hundreds and even thousands of years, which historians call the "oral tradition".  With the advent of television, however, something happened.
     In 1957, television came to our house.  For me, this was an exciting time because television was like radio with pictures, and television became the center of attention.  Storytelling ended.
      As Americans became more prosperous, one  television was not enough.  Over time and even today, families added multiple televisions:  in living rooms, in kitchens, in recreation rooms, in bedrooms of parents, in bedrooms of children.  We have portable televisions on the patios in order not to miss anything as we flip hamburgers and roll hotdogs on the grill.  We also take portable televisions with us as we go on camping trips in order to keep out appetites replenished in the great outdoors. We also watch television in waiting rooms of hospitals, waiting rooms at garages, in barber shops, beauty shops, where we work and at school for our kids.  We even have televisions on our boats and in our cars!
     Over the past fifty years, we have watched programs by television programmers.  We have been told where to spend our money, what to buy, and what not to buy.  We have been told easy ways to save money as well as easy ways to accumulate debt.  We have been informed of the latest styles and fashions, what is cool and what is not, what clothes to wear and what not to wear.  We have been told what to do and what not to do.  Television warns us about violence, then we watch television's violent programs.  The progammers even have God programmed and where to send our money.
     Furthermore, television programmers have told us how to think; for in a subtle, deceptive, and even subconscious way, we have become programmed, which is nothing more than mind control.  We have become like programmed androids moving in the direction programmers want us to go.
     If people can control our minds, then we are under their control.  If they can control our minds, they can control our behavior.  If they can control the way we think, then we will think like them.  If you can shape the minds of children, you can change the future of a nation.
     As I chat with people, I am often amazed that they have no opinions of their own.  As robotic androids, their thinking has been programmed.  They do not perform their own research because they have accepted the opinions of others. We can also accept our own government because of the program written in our minds.  And we can accept religion because of the program written in our minds.   Therefore we can live in strait jackets, afraid to speak because we would be speaking against the programmers.  That would be considered rebellious or even sinful.
     In my early childhood experience with television, I heard people call it "an instrument of the devil".  Others called it hellevision.  I think they were right; for today, the minds of little children can be exposed to pornography in their own homes. 
     Over the past two and half years, my wife and I have agreed not to subscribe to cable and satellite for television programs.  This has been a refreshing experience.  We read, listen to radio, and we also have the PC for news, sports, or other interests.  Our communication has improved remarkably.  We talk to each other more than we ever have.  We share interests and we tell stories. I do miss watching college football, but, other than that, I do not miss television at all. 
     To me, I believe our dependence on television has done more to shatter the relationships of people and families more than any invention of the 20th century. 
      In closing, this is my viewpoint about television.  As always, I encourage you to do your own research and form your own opinion.