Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle once wrote "under all speech that is good there lies a silence that is better." If Carlyle was around today he might be referring to the glut of television programs that seem to cover so little ground. There is no doubt this generation has more to watch and listen to than any other. Hundreds of channels devoted to razor thin slices of life, hardly worth the electricity it takes to warm up the cameras. It's like going to the mall where every store specializes in one object. Talk shows whose menus always include incest, people pulling out each other's hair and, of course, women having their eighth dna test to find the father of their baby. Let's not forget the wonderful evening shows about Hollywood to keep us abreast (oops) of whose in and out of rehab and who is throwing in the towel on their year-long marriage. I can't wait for the comments from stars with first names that include Sean, Barbara, Susan and Martin to tell us why we should hate our president and revolt against all Republican policies.
When I was a kid we had just three television channels, a few radio stations and that was it. I did have a movie projector and a record player which I wore out. You're probably thinking we were a bunch of bored kids but we were'nt. Television was being born and the greatest talent in this country took part in producing shows that are now classics. It's hard to find many classics these days because the writers are spread too thin on hundreds of second rate shows. I do admit there are some exceptions but not a lot.
I feel priviledged to have been a viewer before too much became too little. High def pictures and digital surround sound can't bring back the contents of greatness. Maybe Carlyle was wrong about "silence being better" but it's not a bad idea these days.
Paul Wolfe
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