THE  MODERN  RATIONALIST

WASTE NOT YOUR PRECIOUS TIME IN WATCHING TELEVISION

What all will be there , if you are asked to prepare a list of intoxicating agents that wreck your nerves? Toddy, arrack, heroin, brownsugar, rum, beer and so on will be there perhaps. But very significant among them should be the wonderful invention of television. True, knowledge is spread through television. The whole universe is brought into our living room within seconds of the happenings, and also the events in the farthest corner of this planet.

But . . . To my inquisitive friends I hasten to explain that the addiction to films and television is the latest addition to the list. You may wonder why I have left out addiction to public offices and politics. Well, we shall take it up later.

Addiction to films is like taking willful steps to run to a bar and paying for the alchohols. Whereas the addiction to television is something that visits us at home and intoxicates everyone in the house at the same time. It makes no distinction between the young and the old showing a high sense of equality. There is no need to describe in detail the evils of this addiction. Like the moths to the flame, the family members fall a prey to this addiction and get ruined. The TV channels are nothing but channels through which the multinational companies exploit us through the government policies liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. This trend does not hesitate for a moment to inculcate the culture of consumerism thereby ruining the welfare of both families and nations. Television culture is the primary cause of people throwing simple life to the winds and seeking shortcut methods to secure 3 star and 5 star hotel culture. They do not hesitate to earn money for this purpose, through theft, lies, and even debauchery.

Here is a news from a book I read recently. This is a real incident that happened among the tribes of North Alasca which may not be an isolated incident. These tribes called “Quint” have been living a self sufficient life, unaffected by the cultural invasions of the outside world. They have been living a contented life strictly on the models of their forefathers. In 1980, one among them managed to bring in a television set and instal it among them. Soon these people got addicted to watching the television again and again. This habit turned into a way of living for them. Consequently, they started losing sight of their cultural heritage. They spent most of their time watching T.V., forgetting their duties. Unable to overcome this addiction, they abandoned their hard work. Inspite of not having enough to eat, they could not give up this habit. Soon this turned into an addiction, like alchohols, ruining their lives. In the U.S., such people are called “couch potatoes”. Some research scholars took up the study of the change that had come upon these people. They concluded that these people were affected by the addiction to T.V. suffered by many others, caused by a poisonous gas affecting their nerves. This gas colourless and painless which is bland and tasteless also causes gradual death. This is how they got all their great traditions and talents annihilated finally. Consequently, they lost their peace and joy.

This may not be true only about the tribes. This is an insect that has pierced into the lives of our men and women, old and the young affecting all of them. So, take utmost care in handling the viewing of T.Vs. Don’t forget the T.Vs. are for you; you are not for T.Vs. Parents who make so many sacrifices for their children’s sake, should also be ready to sacrifice their relaxation at home. Discipline yourself to watch only a few chosen programmes. Our youth should take up propagating the proper use of T.V. watching.

- Translated by Prof. S.F.N.Chelliah