The Rude Intruder

When was the last time you had a tradesman into your home for some repair work? Most of these folks are respectable, hard-working and socially appropriate.
But you may have had the stereotypic experience of the clinker who comes in and proudly displays his rear cleavage, vaunted belching ability, and true vulgarianism by lacing his language with poignant terms he learned in restrooms.
In such instance, were you inclined to leave your children in his care, while you went about your business, visited the neighbors, or made a quick trip to the store? Of course not!
If you were too intimidated to usher this cretan out of your home, you may have been at least tempted to call his boss and ask that he not return. Or you may have simply switched contractors.

Well, an incredible amount of today's Television programming resembles what you might imagine this vulgarian would create in a beer sotted delusional state.

Is this really the kind of intruder in whose care you will entrust your children? If you have to have TV, then monitor what your children are watching as closely as you would monitor them with that other vulgarian in your home.

Truth is, the networks are losing viewers steadily. The reasons are manifold, but they include the notion that parents are reacting to the vulgar content, and the lack of objective news reporting is right up there too.

But TV remains a powerful social influence. And for many it has become a form of virtual reality, and an ersatz friend. As the gender wars have heated up, many younger adults have become increasingly isolated, preferring to live alone and independently - if not with the folks. And for these isolationists, the nightly drivel of the soaps and sitcoms has become the common vocabulary that allows them to communicate with their coworkers without betraying personal beliefs or convictions - or heaven forbid, making an unguarded remark that might be construed as politically incorrect.

Strangely, the sitcom stars have assumed a surreal existence in the lives of the lonely and disenfranchised. The distance that these fictional characters once occupied has been dramatically altered, and with the content dumbed down to the level of programing that features discussions of bathroom habits, a strange new faux intimacy has been created between viewer and viewee.

But unlike genuine intimacy, the cyberfriend doesn't require that kind of heavy maintenance. There is no requirement for verbal exchange, nor thoughtful consideration of an expressed need or view. The viewer is absolved of all interpersonal responsibility.

Unquestionably, those parents that are weening their children away from TV and involving them in more interactive outlets, including supervised use of the internet, are to be commended.

Turn Off TV and Get Involved,
U.S. Urged Panel Says Civic Health Down

By David S. Broder
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 25, 1998; Page A21

Americans are right in thinking that community spirit and civic life are on the wane. The remedy lies in themselves, in turning off the TV and getting more involved with their church, school, neighborhood and family.

Those are the main conclusions and recommendations of the bipartisan National Commission on Civic Renewal, which released a report on its 18-month study yesterday.

Titled "A Nation of Spectators," the report includes an Index of National Civic Health, which traces a quarter-century's decline in organizational memberships, political participation, trust in government and in one another, along with worrisome statistics on crime, divorce and extramarital births. A composite score, giving equal weight to each of these measures of civic life, shows a decline of 25 percent from 1972 to 1996.

The private commission, headed by former senator Sam Nunn, a Georgia Democrat, and Republican William J. Bennett, former secretary of education, said the cynicism and concern that many Americans voice, even in relatively prosperous times, cannot be blamed entirely on faulty leadership but involves the indifference of people who spend more time watching television than working with their neighbors.

"Much of what we have done, we have done to ourselves," Bennett said at a news conference where the report, financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, was released.

Several suggestions from the 20-member commission are likely to be controversial. The commission staff will help citizen groups pressure the entertainment industry and advertisers to avoid shows featuring "violence, sexual license and the pursuit of immediate, intense sensation that a decent civic life seeks to moderate." It will offer awards for exemplary shows.

A similar commission project will focus on television news, seeking compacts at the community level to reduce "sensationalized" coverage of crime and give more emphasis to groups involved in problem-solving.