Watching the Grass Grow

It's been about 20 years since I moved out of my parent's house. I went from the undergraduate school near my home town and into the engineering school in western Oregon. Since that day, I have not had a TV in the house. Through college, I was too busy between socializing and studying, then I served a mission, then I went back to college and got married and had our first kid while in college. My wife has been opposed to having a TV as well, so it worked out fairly well for us.

Recently, I came across an article talking about this Walmart ad actively pushing a gay couple. From the comments, much of TV is like this. Of course there is the widely publicized Gillette ad, I am sure if I were to spend the time, I could reference many more. The blatant messages are one thing, but I also see the more subtle things, like the hero or sensible one being usually black, or the goofy dad stereotype shown again and again and again.

If by chance I am at someone's house, I can't help but notice how much television has changed. Overt sexual acts are there for everyone to see, some of them homosexual in nature. Like watching the grass grow, a person may not notice the day to day changes. Perhaps the Gillette ad was pushing the boundaries, but that is only one instance. When I watched TV, it was Homer Simpson, Tim the toolman, and George Costanza. Already they had the agenda going, but I did not see it as strongly back then. Perhaps it was because I was constantly fed it. Looking back another 20 years, and it was Battlestar Galactica (depicting feminist Mary Sues), the Brady Bunch (celebrating mixed families) and Mash (Corporal Klinger). The propaganda was mild at that point, although it was persistent.

I wonder how much television has affected family relationships. Women are more susceptible to this in my opinion. Because women do the majority of the spending and TV watching, so naturally TV and advertisements will cater to them. Women love to think they are princesses, they love the "Sex and the City" fantasy, in the '80s, it was "Golden Girls". Naturally women will eat this up and think divorcing their family and striking out on their own will bring them happiness. They see "Rosanne" and think being a crass, self centered woman will not have any consequences, they watch "ER" and think a woman with a high career is exciting to men and gains them status. Meanwhile, guys see shows like the Simpsons, Married with Children, and Home Improvement, and see the anti-role model. The strong, supportive husband is nowhere to be found, only this goof to be made fun of.

At church, I can tell which families have a TV in the house and which do not. Maybe a little in the parents, but especially in the kids. At their age, they do not have a proper perspective of the world. They only know what they have been taught by the parents, by the schools, by TV, and by the world around them. Due to their limited experience, and the schools and media being in lock-step with each other, that only leaves the parents to combat this. There is a reason kids tend to be more SJWish than their older counterparts, the schools and media are lying to them.

If you value your marriage, if you value your kids, if you value your sanity, remove this stream of poison from your house if you can. Although we mutually agreed on it, if I were to do it again, I would make getting rid of TV a prerequisite to marriage.