Subject: RE: BS: I am boycotting the MJ obit thread
From:
Don Firth
Date: 28 Jun 09 - 02:43 PM
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Categorically refusing to watch television or listen to radio in order to keep one's mind unpolluted strikes me as rather timorous, not to mention rather obsessively, not to mention snobbishly, fastideous, not unlike the kind of person who constantly wears rubber gloves and carries a spray-can of Lysol because they are deathly afraid of germs. It isolates a person from much of what is going on beyond his or her own narrow sphere, while at the same time depriving them of the opportunity to exercise their facilities for taste and judgment. It also leaves them in a very poor position to offer comment on what's going on in the world.
By watching news and commentary as presented by various sources, I learn to winnow the wheat from the chaff (granted, not easy sometimes, considering that there is often very much chaff and very little wheat to be found), and gradually find the more reliable sources and the more honest commentators.
Whereas commercial television offers a great deal of cheesy "entertainment" in the form of crime shows and dumb comedies, PBS gives one the alternative of many fine programs: science shows, such as "NOVA," history programs such as the excellent documentary series' by Ken Burns, international affairs programs such as "Frontline," and many more.
There are programs like "American Masters" (recent presentation, a two-hour special on Pete Seeger entitled "The Power of Song"). There are also frequent specials featuring all kinds of music, from "Doo-Wop Hits of the '50s" (for those who are into that sort of thing) to "Live from Lincoln Center," featuring symphony concerts, song recitals, and full-length operas (for those who are into that sort of thing).
As far as television drama is concerned, PBS stations are currently running dramatizations of the novels of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, along with their "Masterpiece Mystery" series currently featuring the novels of Agatha Christie—complete with superb acting and top-level production values. Barbara and I are currently following a gritty British detective series entitled "New Tricks," a team of "retired" police detectives reinvestigating old crimes, either never solved or about which questions still exist.
Even comedies. Current offerings on my local PBS channels are "As Time Goes By" with Dame Judi Dench (Oscar winner) and Geoffrey Palmer and "Good Neighbors" with Felicity Kendall and Richard Briers. Recently "Yes, Minister" and it's sequel "Yes, Prime Minister" with Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorn—a hilarious comedy, yes, but at the same time, a marvelous telecourse on how politics really works!
Radio? I listen mostly to my local NPR affiliate. News, commentary, discussion programs in which one is not yelled at or badgered, but in which differing viewpoints are presented and the listener is invited to use his or her own judgment; News also from Canada, the BBC, and other sources. I also listen to a local classical music station, and another NPR affiliate that doesn't feature local discussion programs, but does play several hours of folk music each day.
No, you can throw your radio and television in the Dumpster, caulk the windows, and hide under the bed with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears. Or you can look and listen, learn what's going on in the world—and use your MIND.
I am constantly amazed by people who brag that they never watch television or listen to radio and consider anything found on the internet or other public sources to be bogus, who, at the same time, will offer their totally uninformed opinions on the state of the world to anyone who will stand still to listen. Oftentimes they seem to be the ones with the most to say.
Personally, I haven't found my navel lint to be all that informative.
Don Firth
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sj
