KILL YOUR TV! Do it today quick before it sucks you in any deeper. The worldwide media, specifically television has invaded every aspect of life today. There is nothing and no one that it doesn't influence, and it does not even matter if what it reports is the truth, a half truth or an out right lie, whatever it says is the modern day gospel. Even if it is caught in a lie, it simply shrugs and prints a retraction at the bottom of page or at the end of the program, giving a small footnote of it's "mistake". But the worst thing that it does, the very worse thing, is how it manipulates the public’s opinion. The recent Gulf war is a perfect example.
In October when then President Bush announced on TV that the US would go to war with Iraq if it didn't withdraw it's troops by January. Every single poll taken the next day all showed the same numbers from the American public: 80% against the invasion, 15% for and 5% who had no opinion. By the time the war was over, a short 6 months later, all the polls reported that 80% of the American public approved of the war, 15% did not and 5% had no opinion. This complete turn around in the public's thinking was accomplished by a media barrage that the world has previously never seen before. From the time it was announced until it was over, the war was in every newspaper, every newsmagazine, on every TV network everyday all day, and only in the first month was anything against the war reported. The American public accepted the story then made it its own and at the end even celebrated it with a parade, forgetting that a lot of people suffered and died for nothing. Is Kuwait now any more democratic or enlightened than it was before the war, is the world any safer from oppression and madmen? You know the answer. America may not have really helped the Kuwaitis. But it was one hell of a story!
The media also ruins innocent people’s lives with impunity. Remember the McMartin case, for months the newspapers and TV news screamed out the headlines: SATANIC WORSHIP! ANIMAL SACRIFICE! CHILD PORNOGRAPHY! SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN! The entire staff of the pre-school was indicted and tried. But after seven years of frantic searching at a cost of over 15 million dollars, not even one single shred of hard evidence of any of the allegations was ever uncovered despite it being the biggest, longest and most expensive investigation and trial in the US to date. When all of the McMartin defendants were either found not guilty or had the charges against them dropped, where were the headlines and the indignation form the TV reporters? The final verdict was barely mentioned and seven people’s lives were forever ruined. And don't forget about all the children who were talked into believing that they really were molested by media hungry District Attorneys, child psychologists and even media hungier prosecutors. But it was one hell of a story!
And let's not forget about the “War On Drugs”. It's a complete failure. Millions of lives ruined, billions of dollars wasted and there are now more people using illegal drugs in America than ever before. But hey, the American people believe it can be won. They read it in the newspapers and hear it on TV every day. And it is one hell of a story!
The list of media atrocities is endless and I certainly will not waste my or your time on them other than to say, DO NOT BELIEVE THEIR LIES! If you do have to read the newspapers and newsmagazines then just read the entertainment, heath and sports sections, throw the front page away. If you must watch TV then watch sports or the sitcoms (at least they only rot your brain), the dramas not based of an actual event or even the cartoons. Stay away from the news, newsmagazine shows, the reality shows and the tabloid talk shows. If you just can't live without the radio, then listen to your favorite music and turn off talk radio, because all that crap that they put out to you all the time will only make you upset or depressed and makes you hate. After all, what can you as an individual really do about it. When was the last time the President or even your congressman called you up and said to you, "Hey citizen, I'm about to vote on this bill. What do you think?" The answer is, unless your are one of the rich and powerful, NEVER!
So instead of listening to all that shit, talk to a friend, read a book, play with a child, take a walk and look at all the beauty around you, make love with your lover and experience the joy of being human and the pleasure of being alive. You really don't need to know all the crap that you have no control over anyway. KILL YOUR TV! Do it today and ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL LIFE.