Back in the day (1992 to be exact) my all-time favourite rap group (The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy) released an album that was critically acclaimed but a commercial failure (Hypocracy is the Greatest Luxury). There was one song, however that got a fair amount of airplay on the CBC, especially on programs discussing popular culture. That song was Television: Drug of a Nation.
Now, it is easy to knock television. The Simpsons (Homer and Marge, not Jessica and Ashlee) does it quite frequently. Were Marx (Karl, not Groucho) alive today, he would probably write that "television is the opiate of the people" and he would be right. The problem, though, is that TV is a tough drug to kick.
I thought I had kicked the TV habit. During my nine weeks in Africa I had pretty well gotten off of my need for a TV fix. I did watch Pulse once a day to catch up on the news, but that was only because the radio seemed to broadcast entirely in Kiswahili and because there was no place to buy a newspaper out in the countryside where I was. By and large, though, I was watching less than half an hour a day.
When I got home, I resolved to remain TV free. That lasted until Sunday, when I wasted two-and-a-half hours watching the insipid "drama" that is Troy. The next night I watched for two hours, even though I cannot remember what I watched. Last night I wasted time watching a terrible show called "So You Think You Can Dance" or some such thing. I fear what will happen tonight.
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