While working out at the local health club I can glance up and see a row of TV monitors which are tuned to various TV channels. I do not listen to the sound - usually I have an mp3 player loaded with music or interesting podcasts - but the pictures on these monitors show a world dominated by deceptive commercials, reality TV, dumb, dumb TV shows and political propaganda. It looks to me that anyone that voluntarily watches commercial TV has to be a complete moron, or is on the way of turning into one. There are numerous studies available that indicate that TV viewing is bad for your physical health. My point here is that TV viewing has negative implications for your mental health.
The average American watches more than 4 hours (!) of TV EACH DAY. That’s 2 months of non-stop TV watching per year.
Sometimes I imagine an alternate world in which the average America reads 4 hours each day. This American citizen is well-informed and has critical thinking skills. A true modern human. We are moving farther away from that imaginary world every year in this country. It’s a shame.
I think that for a healthy, well-educated woman or man, the US is one of the best countries to live in. I am concerned about the future of this country, though. The general population is neither all that healthy nor all that well educated. And the trend is going in the wrong direction.
Government should interfere as little as possible in the lives of its citizens. But government plays an important role in setting up a framework in which informed citizenship is possible. The US government is currently run by commercial interests. An informed citizenry with critical thinking skills is not what these commercial interests like.
