I Robot, You Jane - 08/24/2006

I was listening to the radio once to a man who infuriates me so much, but who I agree with about 50% of the time. He mentioned the "Dumbing Down of America" and I truly love that phrase. He didn't invent it, but I totally agree with it. Everything from our educational system, our news outlets, to our entertainment is geared towards dumbing us down. Education? Let's get them the bare minimum. They don't need Latin, they don't need Shakespeare. Let's make sure they can read to the 3rd grade level by the time they graduate high school.

News? Who needs news when we have Paris Hilton. Made famous by Page 6 of the NY Post by chronicling her life at an early age, just because she was rich. What does she actually do? It's a sad state of affairs when people can tell you who won American Idol, but can't tell you who our Vice President is. Reality TV kills me. I don't mean things like "Discovery Health" or those home improvement shows. I can do those. It's the rest. It was cute when "The Real World" first started, but with the inundation of reality TV shows, it just got...kitschy. I don't get it and I never will. I will never convince people who love reality TV that worthwhile television programs with witty dialog and thought-provoking issues are leaving television at a faster rate. They will never convince me otherwise, so we're even.

I love books and am currently reading 2. Read a book? *pppsffftttt* Why? It's a waste of my time?/It's boring/I'll watch the movie. I'll never convince those people about the power of a really good book and the need to see how it ends.

But I can try to instill all this in my kids. Maybe one day, they'll demand better for themselves & from the rest of the world.

*gets of soap box*