Turn Off The Television!

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Turn off the TV! That was a common sound heard in the households of anyone over about 45 years old when they were young. The fact is, prior generations were quick to turn off what they called the “idiot box”. What’s changed and how is it affecting our nation?

Very few things in life are indisputable. We all, ok, not all, almost all of us agree the world is round, the earth rotates around the sun, and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. And line with this is that television, certainly an over usage, but television in general leads to poorer academic performance… period.

An article recently published by the Associated Press highlighted another study done, this time by the Sharif’s Children’s Hospital in the Bronx. Their study, which encompassed thousands of students, was certain in its conclusion that television, period, watched by students during the school week was directly involved in reducing their ability to focus and perform to a high level in school. Especially pronounced was the affect on young boys who watched “R” rated movies during the week. This study is no different than countless others and agrees with the American Academy of Pediatrics that founds a clearly direct correlation between students with TV’s in their bedrooms scoring a full 8 points LESS than students without a television in their rooms on standardized tests. Folks, the evidence is clear, stop letting your children watch so much TV, especially during the school week.

The evidence, my friends, can’t be clearer. Yes, television is a fun diversion and the executives in Hollywood are very good at giving us entertainment we’ll watch. But let’s remember, their GOAL is simply to get you zoned into their program so you’ll buy the advertised products. They really couldn’t care less about you or your children. Period! In 1931, there was book published called “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley that looked at the world in the year 2531. While some of this isn’t yet reality, there’s one point I hope and pray you’ll take to heart. In his book, the government hands out a ration of a drug he calls “soma”. This drug makes you content, and compliant. The government uses this to control the population and keep them from engaging in critical thinking which could threaten the status quo.

Look, I’m not conspiracy freak thinking the government is in some evil plot to use television to steal your mind. But I do believe, and the evidence clearly shows, that TV does act in many ways like a drug on your mind. Your brain slows down and your cognitive functions are reduced. It’s clear and it’s obvious.

So, please take this to heart and next time your kids want to vegetate in front of the TV, especially during the week, just say no, for their sake. I know my children would far prefer to watch TV rather than read. But then again, they’d rather eat candy for dinner and not real food too. But as their parent, and taking that responsibility to heart, I don’t let them eat candy for dinner. They need to build strong bodies that are healthy and resistant to all sorts of viruses and bacteria. Well, are their minds any different? Reading builds a strong mind, like protein builds strong muscle. TV floods the body with short term highs just like a sugar cube.

The United States is NOT doing exceptionally well on many fronts; economically we have so much debt we’re in trouble, socially our very fabric is tearing, and politically we can’t agree on anything even solutions to the smallest problems. The ONLY solution to these is that the population rises up one at a time and say’s “enough”. I will empower myself to survive and thrive in this new era, and one of the tools we need is a “Declaration of Independence” from our Televisions.