by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
It has destroyed family meal times, communication between family members, and much more.
How often are children told to be quiet because Dad wants to watch sports on TV or the “news”, or the parents want to watch this or that movie or show?
Too many people also use the television set as a baby sitter plonking children in front to of to watch this or that stupid show for children to “keep them quiet”.
The television is being used, as was also radio, before TV, in Nazi Germany, for instance, where the state was the only one allowed to broadcast in the country and the state radio the only one to be listened to, as a tool of indoctrination and for mass dumbing down. But with visuals, as in television, the impact is greater still than ever was by means of radio.
It can or could, if one just would want to, be used for good and for teaching values (as was done in the German Democratic Republic) but there is no money in doing that in the capitalist world in such programs.
As to whether violence on TV, watched by children and young people, from a young age, is the predominate causal factor to the ills and the violence that has befallen society today I do not want to try and judge. I doubt that it has been innocent in it though.
The increase in violence in our society may have cause beyond just television and the violence portrayed there. It may have to do, to some extent, also with the changes in our environment, changes in the Earth's magnetic field, planetary happenings, and, maybe, even the fact that we are nowadays surrounded by electromagnetic radiation than we have never been before in our lives.
The general breakdown in our society may also be resultant from that latter or our problems may be the result of the breakdown of society. A bit like the chicken and egg question, I guess.
Television, and way too many of the programs, does, however, have a negative influence because of the way capitalism uses it, on us and especially on our children. Thus, as we cannot change the garbage that is put out by the various channels a divorce, in my opinion, is the best answer by far.
© 2012
