Televisionland: The New Salem

The boob tube, idiot box, mindless entertainment; these are but a few of the derogatory terms used to describe the reportedly evil invention known as television. Since the first flicker of the phosphor coated screen, television has been under attack and ridiculed as a tool for the weak mind. Parents are admonished for allowing their children to squander their time and mental abilities with such drivel as that spewed from this absent babysitter.

The propaganda waged against this innately neutral tool is endless. Like any tool, depending on the mindset and intent of the user, it can be used in a very positive way or a very negative way. The same ones that argue against the value of TV are the same ones that argue the endless positive effects of any form of reading. Don't get me wrong, for I do believe that reading is a great way of learning and an enjoyable form of entertainment. However, you could read a book on quantum physics or how to become a terrorist. It all depends on the person and their intent.

Television offers views into worlds that we otherwise would not be allowed to enter. It exposes us to people that we otherwise never would have a chance to meet. It allows us to consider other viewpoints than our own. It opens a door to a vast array of knowledge that would be lost without such a magical box. It can make us think about how our lives interact and intersect with others. It can make us better understand the consequences of our decisions. It also contains views, which we may not agree with, lives that we feel are immoral, and worlds that we do not wish to ever see. Just as a book can contain stories of tremendous love or stories of tremendous evil or a computer be used to access the words greatest art or the world's most explicit adult content so is the case with television.

A book cannot be judge by its cover nor can education be judge by how it is obtained. Turn TV Off campaigns have become today's equivalent to yesterday's book burnings. A proverbial witch hunt carried out in ignorance rather than informed understanding. However, at least with book burnings, only certain books deemed offensive were made targets. Full libraries of books were spared from this fate because even the fanatics realized that the perceived evil was not inherent to all books in general.

It's time to realize that we are in the information age and that education comes in many different forms. Unfairly making a target out of one form without first understanding its relevance clearly shows the lack of a real thought process. True education should empower individuals to think for themselves and be open to learning in any form.