by Carl V. Bibeau
Are you "mad as hell?" Are you still "taking it" (whatever programmers give you) even after being encouraged not to, over three decades ago? Peter Finch's character in the 1976 film, Network, exhorted people to throw their television sets out the window and scream, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
There are many reasons why you shouldn't have taken nearly as much as you already have, but you never developed the resolve to say no. "They" know it. The first thing they say whenever critiques are made is, "If it bothers you, turn it off." After all, no one is forcing you to watch. Studies have repeatedly shown that even if the TV's not being watched, many folks feel that anything is better than silence. Years ago, network executives came up with a name for the tendency to settle for the least offensive of whatever was offered. They called it L.O.P. (Least Objectionable Program) Today, we have a plethora of "reality" programming because people, though they would rather fantasize in total fiction, still opt to watch the most idiotic of circus freak shows, and therefore live vicariously, rather than turn off the set and live their own lives.
Doesn't L.O.P. sound remarkably like the philosophy "moral" leaders have told us is our only alternative? We must choose the "lesser evil." It's our only "prudent" choice. We are chided if we voice the notion of striving for anything ideal. It's considered arrogant. Perfection is not attainable, so why try? We should have already come to the "enlightened" conclusion that no matter what we do, the world will never be perfect. Indeed, is everything one does to try and change anything destined to be futile?
You really can't change anyone or anything in the world. The only person you ultimately have the power to change is yourself. However, through minute changes in your own behavior, everything around you is influenced. The ripple effect on the world will be substantial.
Does one possess the Wisdom to know what one personally can and cannot change? No human is that wise. It is only by the Grace of God that one can discern what one must abide, and what is possible for one to change. Does THIS sound familiar? It's one of the simplest prayers. (Of course, one must have at least a glimmer of belief in God in order to pray, because prayer is communication addressed to God.)
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
God, grant me the courage to change the things I can.
God, grant me the wisdom to know the difference.
Listen carefully. People NEED hope to put one foot in front of the other. Ask yourself who has come forward offering that promise of hope and change? The same person who was, and is, unanimously supported by the godless media which has been methodically chipping away at moral behavior for decades - mainly through television. The celebrity role models, whom you have willingly lived vicariously through for decades, are at the forefront of the "celebration" recently commencing in Washington, D.C.
If you're scratching your head, wondering how blatant evil has prevailed under the rubric of hope and change, (even though you personally always opted for the lesser evil)then you are dramatically retarded. You've watched way-too-much drama on the tube in quest of entertainment, and devotedly consumed countless hours of so-called "news" from your beloved glass teat. But while doing so, you've allowed your powers of discernment to be gradually numbed as to what is real and what is fiction. Otherwise, why would it be so difficult for you to comprehend the contrived docudrama otherwise known as Election 2008?
Conservatives - those wishing to conserve the Constitution and the form of government established by this Republic's Founders - were not represented. How did John McCain, a faux "choice," rise as placeholder opposition to the candidate who blatantly wants to be Socialist and even campaigned as Fuhrer of the Global World Order? (remember the holy speech in Germany)
When voters are faced with a perceived choice between only two candidates I wonder which is likely to be chosen. Remember, the media who monopolizes perception-making and "electibility" (by those willing to be manipulated) determined who was "debate-worthy." On the one hand, we had an old carmudgeon which the superego dictated was our only prudent choice. On the other hand, we had a vibrant young champion of the downtrodden who promised we could have our cake and eat it too. (He was the "id" candidate for you Kinsey and Freud fans.) What resulted was a no-brainer "choice" suited for the passive no-brain-required medium of TV.
Judging by the government-aided information campaign being waged via the medium which is the message, life itself will stop after February 17, 2009, if you are not equipped to receive a digital signal. It is as though television reception is deemed as vital as oxygen. Uninterrupted flow must remain. One couldn't hold one's breath long enough to acquire the hardware necessary to receive a digital signal "after the fact." If this much public service education took place preceeding a disaster like Katrina, no loss of life would ever occur. However, I doubt the public would have the patience to listen to incessant ads for mere oxygen preparedness. For uninterrupted TV (necessary to avoid a Jones-ing situation) they, of course, understand how important months of preparation for the transition might be.
If you're going to listen to anything "they" have to say, please listen to their most prophetic utterance.
"If it bothers you, turn it off."
Your conscience should be able to distinguish between what you want and what you need. Therefore, be careful to allow that inner voice its due when you're making the evaluation of whether or not programming "bothers" you. I encourage you to participate in The Great American Tune-Out on February 17th, Tuesday coming. Then, use your hardware as a monitor to watch selected videos in moderation. Take back that which is within your power to control - your own behavior. Your life, and ultimately the world, may change in unimaginable ways as a result.
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Recommended Reading:
TV: The Great Escape!
by Robert DeMoss
____________________________________________________________________permission granted to reprint or disseminate electronically in its entirety with credit of authorship, and link to http://laying-the-groove.blogspot.com
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