Saratoga News
Columns
Televisions come with on-off switches for a reason
By Dick Sparrer
My television is on.
No, not right now, silly ... I'm at work. I just mean that my TV is going to be on for the next few days. You see, it's supposed to be "TV Turn-off Week"--it started Monday and runs through this Sunday. But my television is staying on.
The TV turn-off idea is an effort to stop violence, but I don't buy it. Like turning off my TV will in some way prevent a violent act? Heck, if I have to tell Natalie she can't watch American Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, it may cause a violent act!
We like to blame our schools, our society, and yes, even TV programming for many of the problems we face today. Well, maybe we should take a good, hard look at our own parenting and our family units and take a little of the blame ourselves. It's called parental responsibility.
The great thing about a television set is that it comes with choices--a channel selector and an on-off switch.
Don't like what's on? Change the channel.
Don't like anything that's on? Turn the darn thing off.
Don't want your kids to watch violent shows? Don't let them!
It's all very simple, really. So simple that I don't need some designated week to show me the light.
Anyway, if I turn off my TV this week, I'll miss the evening news each night ... and that's where most of the violence is anyway!
It's more than just the news, though. Sure, there's violence on TV. But if you have your TV flipped off this week, you'll miss watching:
* "Andy and the nine remaining bachelorettes head to Lake Tahoe in a private jet" on The Bachelor: Officer, and you'll miss one of the ladies experiencing an emotional breakdown (now if that's not quality programming, I don't know what is).
* Jack Bower successfully saving the world from a nuclear holocaust, averting a presidential assassination and avoiding a bad hair day ... all in a single 24-hour period on 24. (Uh, you say you TiVo'd it? Sorry about that!)
* The Giants play the Dodgers, the Giants play the Dodgers, the Giants play the Dodgers.
* The coyote. If he hadn't been blown to pieces, fallen off a cliff, been flattened by a falling anvil or been hit by a train that came steaming out of the picture of a tunnel he had just painted on a slate wall, he would have gobbled up that roadrunner.
* The silly rabbit almost getting the Trix.
* Current events as told to us each day by Oprah and Ellen.
* Round six of Dancing With Stars.
* Pete Wilson on the evening news tell us that April 25 is National Secretary's Day (I sure hope that Martha in our office has her TV turned off this week).
So you see, we would just miss too much by turning the TV off for an entire week.
Sure, we have shows like The Tick ("animated tales of a 400-pound crimefighter dressed in a blue body stocking") and Gargoyles listed under children's programming. But here's a news flash for ya ... don't let your kids watch them!
But that means you better not watch Montel Williams' show about dating a co-worker, or Dr. Phil's show about fearing a family member, or Tyra Banks' show about not wanting to be seen on the beach with a mate because of their size.
And if we really want to keep our kids away from violent programming, don't let them watch those town council meetings broadcast over KCAT!
There are also shows for kids like Popular Mechanics for Kids, Timeblazers and Bugs Bunny (OK, so ol' Bugs drops a house on Elmer Fudd now and then ... he's just a wascally wabbit, after all).
And there were classic movies like Peyton Place, Heidi and Destry on the AMC channel in the morning earlier this week (that's it, I'm going to have to get cable in the office!).
So there's plenty of quality programming out there if we look for it. And if we pay attention to what our kids are watching and don't just use the TV as a babysitter, we don't have to turn it off.
We just have to be parents.
Want to talk? Drop me an e-mail at dsparrer@community-newspapers.com or give me a call at 408.354.3110, ext. 31.
