Television is a wonderful thing. It brings us art, stories, science, and lets us learn and journey. We can watch the politics of the Seven Kingdoms, hop in the Tardis, or board the deck of a Firefly. So many farmers and homesteaders say TV is garbage but I strongly disagree. I don't have an actual television in my home, but I do watch shows I love on my computer. And folks, a lot of it is amazing, touching, and really important to be. To call all of a medium junk is immature, and foolish. Jerry Springer and Six Feet Under are not in the same wheelhouse, and you sound silly saying so. So let me stand firm as a fan of good television. A geek, even. But when we start treating television as rubbernecking it loses its import. Yesterdays events were horrific, and when you learned about them you were certainly getting news. But to turn on those horrible cable news channels and soak in it is not news at all. You are not waiting for understanding, or explanation. Brutality doesn't have one beyond the act itself. The news is over after the headline. Unless you are a resident, there to help, or have a loved one at the scene, it nothing but pornography. All you are doing by watching it is turning horror into celebrity. You don't need those penny dreadfuls to be informed. I promise you'll hear all the news about the event whether you want to or not within a few hours.
So when something horrible happens, fight back. Turn off the television and make something beautiful. Paint a picture, read a novel, take a walk, kiss your lover, have sex, tell a story, say a prayer, garden until you bleed or jog until your heart bursts. Do something, do anything but turn on cable news. It is not good.
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