re: #856 Syrah

I killed my TV for that reason. (And because I was too cheep to pay for cable.)

I knew that it had an influence on me and on others. I was surprised to discover just how much. It is something that I think that only those without a TV can really notice.

Another thought that was disturbing me at the time was noticing how people would arrange the furniture in their homes so that the TV was the focal point of almost every room that one was in. It struck me as being a little creepy, as if the TV had become a kind of an alter or a god.

I regret that I have but one ding to give this comment. You’re absolutely right. People don’t know until they spend time away from the idiot box just how much control it has over them. I also quit listening to talk radio because I was more interested in forming my own thoughts and conclusions. Pundits create too much noise, and I found it more difficult to be my own voice when allowing too many others the ability to allow me to form their opinions in my head.

Not that I’m down on radio like I am on TV. They use different areas of the brain, and radio is much more of an active stimulant than TV. With radio, your brain has to work to form an image, with TV- it’s all spoon fed to you.