"Now take an individual who grows up with parents who regularly tune in to the dumbest of dumb TV shows....and who never encourage their children to read a book, and who have no books in the house except the latest issue of People Magazine and the latest Danielle Steele novel. How will most children end up, given those influences? What choices will they make? And what choices will they be unaware they ever had? It's monkey-see, monkey-do, you know. Most kids imitate their parents' lifestyle pretty closely."

Again, I think you are making assumptions. There was a time, not long ago, when illiteracy was more prevelant - and even today it has not been eliminated. Even for those who could read, libraries were not the norm and owning books was not as common. People learn from many sources - family, church, school, peers. There is propaganda in every medium - including books.   You said that you read history and historical fiction. I know that I could pick 2 or 3 different books that would have different slants on the subject matter - and all would be considered history and fact.

You say that television is the most effective propaganda tool - and I disagree with that statement completely. Again you are coming from a preconceived notion that people will be swayed by everything they see on TV, and I say that it is no different from what they read in a book or TV. You describe thoes terrible news stories of school shootings as "present day", when in reality it is a problem that has existed for ages.   The issue today is that you can see it on television and while you might argue that it influences other to mimic the action, I feel that it becomes too easy to place them on the medium because people like yourself are looking for an easy answer. A child bringing a gun into a school has many other issues besides being exposed to television.

The points you are making are the same arguements that are always brought up by those who feel television and other media have nothing to offer. What it fails to do is take the viewer into consideration and it focuses only on select programming.   Some of the authors that you mentioned - Twain, Doyle and Wells - were writing what was considered commercial material for the day. They wrote for magazines that were considered "pulps" or "penny dreadfuls" and were made to appeal to the large masses. They recognized the power of the word to sway opinion - just as television does today. There is no difference.

You also fail to recognize the outstanding offerings that can be found - great performances, documentaries, substantial talk programs, and works of great art.   Sure there is crap like reality shows and Entertainment Tonight, but if you focus on THOSE types of programs - you are slanting your opinion.

Television can also bring people together. Think of the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the moon landing or 9/11.    Viewers are not simply feeding back what they are told, they absorb what they see and form their own opinions. While you may not agree with those opinions, they are formed from a variety of sources and reasons - and to put the blame on television would be no different than for someone to blame you for making your opinion based solely on a liberal perspective.

Give people a chance, it is not as cut and dry as you try to make it out to be.