MEDIA CONTEST: Put down the remote

  • Published
  • Commentary Entry 10
ACC MEDIA CONTEST --  The other night I was watching television -- A frequent occurrence in my home. During a commercial when the tube's grip had loosened, I wiped the drool from mouth and noticed the bookshelf in the corner of my eye.

It appeared to be staring at me sadly like a dog left out in the rain. Screaming, "Don't you remember the places we went together? We traveled across America with Jack Kerouac and Sal Paradise, heard the story of Holden Caulfied, we went out to sea with Captain Ahab and conquered the Great White Whale and traveled on the Mississippi with Huck Finn. We traveled so many places and saw so many things. We read the words of Hemmingway, Shakespeare, Kurt Vonnegut, T. S. Eliot and Tolstoy. We read the poetry of Whitman, Frost, Emerson and Dylan. We achieved so much and witnessed so many things. Now you just sit there, collecting Tortilla Chip crumbs as fast as I've collected dust, watching 24. It's a shame.

It's amazing how television controls most our lives. Without my daily fill of Sports Center in the morning, my whole day seems to be a mess. It's like virtual caffeine.
I'm not going to lie, it has been awhile since I have read a book -- something I used to enjoy and do often. With all of the garbage that's on television you'd think a book would be the first place to turn ... instead we just turn the channel. We turn it to another
piece of junk clogging up our minds. I almost feel guilty.

You are not going to enhance your mind by finding out who "The Donald" and his hair piece gave the boot to this week or by watching a man eat 30 tarantulas alongside Joe Rogan.

So I urge you, not only as a military journalist or as a lover of literature but as someone who is sick of television's relentless grip on society -- I urge you as someone who is tired of the shows like CSI Des Moines and Swimming With Celebrities and especially tires of the commercial peddling TV networks, to please take thirty minutes out of your night and start reading a book.

It's important for those of us with kids; kids who learn to read at a young age are set up for success in school and in life. Reading makes you a better writer, a better speaker and overall a more intelligent person. It helps you learn.

So get a library membership - they're free - How much is your cable or satellite bill? Go to a used bookstore. Even see what is offered online ... So instead of watching your Randy, Paula and Simon tonight, put down the remote and pick up a book.