Item: 1 Samsung television set
I've been thinking of all the things I like and dislike about having a television, and I can think of only 1 thing I consider positive.
For some good-sized chunks of my life, I've lived somewhere without a TV, and the general effect of this on my lifestyle was good. Except that when I got an opportunity to watch it at someone else's house, I wanted to watch it for 8 or 9 hours at a time, to gorge on it, so to speak. This suggests to me that there is a deep desire for what television provides, even if you don't like it or want it to be a regular part of your life. Having a TV available anytime sort of lessens its power.
Other than this, everything I can come up with is bad. Even though it's not big or expensive, even though it goes for weeks without ever being turned on, even though the reception is bad enough so as to be a deterrent to watching, it's still here, making me a 1-TV household. If pressed, I'd have a hard time defending that.
I've spent a lot of my life complaining about television and how stupid it is, what a waste of time, etc. etc. Whenever I see a car with a "Kill Your Television" bumper sticker, I feel an immediate affinity with the driver, even though I can also sympathize with those who find these people insufferably superior and/or hypocritical and wish they would just shut up about it.
But I am 1 of those people at heart. I truly believe life would be better without television; I want to wholeheartedly reject it and all that it stands for, and yet I haven't, quite. To be 95% against something smacks of an inability to commit. When I meet one of those rare people who still doesn't have a TV, I have to acknowledge that that person is more ethically pure than I am, and I don't like that much.
As you can see, the Week of Lists has concluded and I'm back to the standard format. But I may throw a few other twists in here and there.
For some good-sized chunks of my life, I've lived somewhere without a TV, and the general effect of this on my lifestyle was good. Except that when I got an opportunity to watch it at someone else's house, I wanted to watch it for 8 or 9 hours at a time, to gorge on it, so to speak. This suggests to me that there is a deep desire for what television provides, even if you don't like it or want it to be a regular part of your life. Having a TV available anytime sort of lessens its power.
Other than this, everything I can come up with is bad. Even though it's not big or expensive, even though it goes for weeks without ever being turned on, even though the reception is bad enough so as to be a deterrent to watching, it's still here, making me a 1-TV household. If pressed, I'd have a hard time defending that.
I've spent a lot of my life complaining about television and how stupid it is, what a waste of time, etc. etc. Whenever I see a car with a "Kill Your Television" bumper sticker, I feel an immediate affinity with the driver, even though I can also sympathize with those who find these people insufferably superior and/or hypocritical and wish they would just shut up about it.
But I am 1 of those people at heart. I truly believe life would be better without television; I want to wholeheartedly reject it and all that it stands for, and yet I haven't, quite. To be 95% against something smacks of an inability to commit. When I meet one of those rare people who still doesn't have a TV, I have to acknowledge that that person is more ethically pure than I am, and I don't like that much.
As you can see, the Week of Lists has concluded and I'm back to the standard format. But I may throw a few other twists in here and there.
posted by Karen at 7:17 PM
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