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Television is a disease
Published Monday, August 20, 2007
There is a group of people who get a kick out of watching people die. This same group enjoys listening to all the dirt they can on others. They consume it.
They are a private people and like, preferably, to be in the dark. They are hidden from those they watch — voyeurs, you might say — of the dark. They like to watch as people are murdered before their eyes. They like to watch others have sex, soliciting drugs, and making fun of the faithful and true.
And the worst part of this group is that they actually pay for it not only from their wallets, but from instances such as Columbine.
The name of this depraved group? The average American.
Television is a stealthy and deadly disease of American values and no one is stopping it. In fact, they are paying for it in more ways than one — monetarily and in increased violence in our communities.
There is no doubt in my mind that “What you admire, you become,” and that television affects the minds and hearts of our children.
Who are your kids' heroes? Captain Jack? Harry Potter? Tony Montana?
Violence-ridden and depraved television is destroying, little by little, our core American values: honesty, truthfulness, gentleness, patience, kindness, mercy, love, hope, and faith.
Very few of these virtues are on television. There is no doubt, that if indeed there is a hell that most television stations broadcast from it, therefore, I believe it should be called not television, but hellivision.
“Murderers are action heroes.” Drug dealers heroes. Witchcraft glorified by a boy named Harry. An adulterer named James Bond. The moral standards of that strange place known as television land. End transmission.
Joshua L. Lake - Fergus Falls
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by wendies43 (anonymous) on August 20, 2007 at 6:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think you are over dramatizing it!!!! If you don't like it, do not watch it - plan and simple. I think you must have watched alittle too much of the DRAMA QUEEN shows.
Posted by Mel (anonymous) on August 20, 2007 at 10:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with Joshua, I know old folks who can find very few shows that they can stand to watch because it has gotten so bad.
Posted by Venti (anonymous) on August 21, 2007 at 9:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ha! This coming from a guy who:
1. makes music videos of himself burning things,
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?ei=UTF...
2. writes "nightmarish" poetry and tries to sell it to the general public
http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Childre...
and
3. who's band poster has a depiction of a guy holding a bloody dager while sucking on his own bloody finger.
http://www.emanon.iwarp.com/
I'd have to say Mr. Kaufmann would definitely fall under the aforementioned category of your "average American."
Posted by Venti (anonymous) on August 21, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BTW, "Do you believe me"...
Total rip off of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."
"Mama take this badge from me, I can't use it anymore..."
LOL!
Posted by Kurtisishere (anonymous) on August 23, 2007 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The television isn't inherently bad. It does not create the movies, commercials, and shows that are depicted within it. Nor does it schedule the time slots that air the programs.
Most kids' heroes are their parents. Unless those parents have some issues, such as those I'm begining to suspect yours had.
I think that if there is a hell, you're probably living in it, and should consider getting help.
I don't really watch the televison, except to keep up on sports, and news programs. But if anyone has a problem with the content on television, contact the FCC, or turn it off.
Instances such as the solicitation of drugs, people engaging in intercourse, people dying, and people making fun of the "faithful and true" will occur even without it's depiction on a television screen. Therefore your statement that the television is a deadly disease has no merit whatsoever.
Blow up your television! Not because Joshua L. Lake thinks it's a stealthy and deadly disease, but because it wastes so much of our time.
Posted by Dubliner (anonymous) on August 23, 2007 at 12:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A bit melodramatic, aren't we?
I very much believe that television, books, and music don't make people do things they already don't have a propensity to do.
However, for the sake of argument, let's say that it can. Using the Columbine example, let's say that those individuals would have never done what they had done if not for watching television. Is that a reason to ban certain television programming altogether? Because two people, out of however many million live in this country committed a school shooting?
Now, take your Harry Potter example. I would ask if you've ever actually read a Harry Potter book, but that question seems to have answered itself. If you had, it would be painfully obvious to you that Harry possesses everything you call "American values:" honesty, truthfulness, gentleness, patience, kindness, mercy, love, hope, and faith. Harry Potter is, at its core, a simple good vs. evil story where the protagonist happens to be a wizard. I can't fathom for a moment how this series contributes to violence in America or somehow deteriorates the moral fiber of our children. Care to elaborate?
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