By Staff
Am I old, or what? While age is relative and we are "as old as we feel," I sometimes think that the world has passed by and I've been left behind.
For instance, many people have no idea who Lucille Ball and Arthur Godfrey were. They never saw TV shows such as "What's My Line?" or "G.E. Theater" or "Bonanza" or "Twilight Zone." Likewise, I have no idea about what they are watching – well, that's not entirely true.
I see previews for many shows, mostly sitcoms, that shock (yes, SHOCK) me.
I must clarify, before I go any further, that my TV watching is quite limited. My favorite shows are (and not necessarily in order of preference) the NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, Jimmy Neutron and Rugrats.
I also watch some programs on HGTV and the Food Network as well as programs on PBS. Period. All of these are fairly "safe" and free from nastiness.
At my advanced age I dislike shows like "That's Raven" (geeze, I hate that show!), "Desperate Housewives," "Two and Half Men," – need I go any further?
I'm really embarrassed when previews, aired during times when children watch TV, are totally nasty! Okay, I know the difference between "naughty" and "nasty."
Most shows airing during prime time are nasty.
That's where HGTV, the Food Network, Animal Planet and PBS come to the rescue.
When I was a kid, ages ago, we were not subjected to nastiness. Once in a while there was some naughty suggestion, but it was still in "good taste."
Now, nastiness has taken control and anything goes.
People who know me, know that I'm not a prude. I enjoy a laugh as much as anyone else.
But there are limits of decency. And much of the time, TV exceeds those limits.
Perhaps the problem lies with our laziness. We demand to be entertained. This summer I saw an over-weight kid, wearing an over-sized T-shirt wandering around the softball fields. The words on his shirt demanded, "Entertain me; I'm bored!" Have we become a civilization of slugs with no brains?
Are we people who have to be stimulated and entertained by nastiness and sleaze to find a moment of enjoyment?
Do we really want Raven, Brad Pitt, Brittany Spears, Tom Cruise, Janet Jackson or that Timberlake guy to define who we are and set standards for us?
In some respects, we are what we watch (on TV). Our friends, Phyllis and Mike, don't even have cable in their home!
Most of their TV time is spent watching PBS. Wow! What dinosaurs they are! But they have made choices about what's important. They are people I respect very much. Not because of what they watch or don't watch on TV but because they don't have to be entertained to feel complete or satisfied.
They know who they are. They don't pattern their lives by the stars and starlets. Consequently, they are in control of what they see, read, say and do.
Our community, yes our nation, needs more people like Mike and Phyllis and fewer people who need to be entertained by people like Raven, Brad, Tom, Brittany, Janet and Justin and others who glitter (momentarily, at least).
Perhaps I'm not old at all. Old fashioned? Probably. But I don't depend on the "stars" to give meaning to my life or to provide my entertainment.
I'm not alone; I know several individuals and families who balance their lives apart from a need to be entertained by whatever comes into their homes by way of television without any censuring or discrimination.
Yes, I watch TV. I also read, write, study, converse with my family and friends and live what I consider a quite normal life.
I still abhor nastiness and sleaze. And, I don't depend on others to entertain me.
Oh, by the way – the one and only time I took a TV out on my front porch was to host a Kentucky Derby Day party.
After the race the television was returned to our library, never to assault my warm-weather sanctuary again.