Ben Cossitor

English 30

October 27, 2008

Television Poison

Isn’t it interesting how many people mourn the loss of morality today and blame it all on the

“new generation?” So many people cry out against the unscrupulous behavior of the young today like

wolves at the moon, but they offer no other explanation than kids today are raised differently. Well,

being one of those kids, it’s apparent to me that parenting has not really changed; as always, some are

good at it and others, well, should have reconsidered that night when they were drunk and out of

condoms. So what has changed? What is different now that could be affecting the youth in such a

negative manner? The answer is television.

That’s right, I said it; the holy TV is the source of our country’s moral distress. Year after year,

television programs are spewed out that become ever more vulgar and graphic. It’s like watching a car

careen off a cliff; our TV shows have gone from the lofty extremes of Leave it to Beaver and sailed down

to the casual sex in Sex and the City. The question is, when is the car going to hit the bottom? How much

more gratuitous gore and gluttony is society going to be subjected to before we all realize that we really

want to watch something wholesome?

From its inception, television revolutionized the way humans communicate. No more did a

person have to wait weeks for a mailed telegram or listen over static to the monstrosities that were

telephones and radios. People could flip a switch, and it was like having whoever was on the screen in

their living room. With the novelty came respect for what was being transmitted into people’s homes;

never would a sex scene or unrealistic hacking scene be sent into an unwary family’s house. Sadly, as the

novelty wore off, so did the respect, and people can view the degenerated programming today as a

result.
 On television today, the display of gratuitous violence and drug use just leads to encouraging

more crime in our country. According to nationmaster.com (a site whose data is referred to by such

media as the New York Times, USA Today, and NBC News) the United States’ crime rate has the largest

crime rate at nearly 12,000,000 reports; this is nearly double the number two country, the United

Kingdom. While it’s true that the United States is larger than many of the countries on this list, stop and

consider that Russia and India (both of whom have two of the most massive populations on Earth) are

ranked at number five and number ten, respectively. This ignominious victory for the US is caused by

shows like CSI (in any of its various spin-offs) and Law and Order which walk viewers through multiple

murder scenarios each week. Viewers receive a full education on deadly chemicals, the right way to

silently strangle a person, and what to make sure they don’t leave behind as they’re leaving. It’s like

taking a homicidal training course. For example, in 2005 one episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

titled “Iced” explained the uses of dry ice in silently smothering a victim in his sleep. While I’m sure that

university students appreciated the chemistry lesson, any deranged people out there (and anyone that

watches the news knows that they are out there) definitely had a different perspective on the subject

matter. From that episode alone, they learned how they could obtain the dry ice, a method for leaking

the gas into a room, and how much they would need to fill the room. This is but one example of the

types of ideas that can spread from crime shows.

Arguers could say that criminals would be deterred by the fact that the investigators always

catch the bad guy; apparently, even crime shows can’t escape the fairy tale ending. I would have to ask

those arguers if they really thought that fact would factor into the schemes of a mentally unstable

person. That’s like suggesting that a toddler would want to wait to buy his/her favorite toy in order to

compare prices; people of that nature (both toddlers and the mentally unstable) are totally self-

absorbed, and many don’t even think rationally.

 Likewise, as teenage pregnancy statistics are plastered all over magazines, billboards, news

channels, etc. it seems obvious where the heart of the problem lies. Again nationmaster.com declares

the US the winner with around 1700 births per one million people; the number two, Slovakia, only has

around 1100 per one million, giving the USA a significant margin of victory. Once again, television is a

culprit as every year programs like Sex and the City, Greek, and even Everybody Loves Raymond become

more lewd and graphic. Almost every show has some type of sex scene in it because apparently that’s

what viewers want. For example, Sex and the City actually displays the act several times in episodes like

“Sex and the City,” “Sex and Another City,” “The Man, the Myth, the Viagra,” and “Was it Good for

You?” where the four lead ladies sleep around New York City and then spend the rest of the show

discussing their exploits. Come on, even the titles have to use sex to keep their viewers’ attention. Just

to be clear, I’m not knocking the acting in any of these programs (although the standards for today’s

performances are rather questionable), I’m knocking the content. As children watch these graphic

shows, it implants ideas in their heads. Like little sponges, they absorb everything they see and begin to

question what some innuendos mean or why people like “wrestling in the dark” so much. The ideas are

seeds that take root and begin growing until twelve-year-olds know everything there is to know about

sex.

Some people will argue that it’s the parents’ responsibility to monitor what their children are

watching; they should utilize technology like the v-chip to block inappropriately rated programming.

Well, having become an expert circumventer of this parental blocking, I can say from experience that

the technology is not infallible. When I was little and my parents still tried blocking channels, I would

spend hours figuring out the password; to be honest, they weren’t that inventive using numbers like

their birth years, and birthdays, so within a week I could watch whatever I wanted. Furthermore, for the

children without the patience to sit and think up password combinations, some programs slip through

the cracks because either the television doesn’t receive a rating for them or some other glitch; it is
understandably quite difficult for today’s families with two working parents to keep their eyes on their

children’s behavior 24/7. The only other option for families is to remove their television altogether;

however, our society has become so dependent on the device for news and announcements that this

idea is totally impractical. The answer is that television writers need to get a grip on what being morally

responsible means. Writers on the major networks need to understand that while they have

understandable pressure to increase ratings, they also wield a great power over society; everything they

write is viewed by the American public, and it stays in their minds long after the episode is over. For

example, when I see college kids partying on the show Greek it remains in my mind, and when I’m given

the opportunity to drink, it influences my decision. I remember that those students could do it, so why

not I? With this power for negative influence, writers have an equal power for positive influence. All

they need to do is begin writing subject matter that harkens back to the “picket fence” values (simple

values of home and family) of Leave it to Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show and there will be a marked

improvement in society.

Again I ask, when will this car finally crash into the ground? Television has become a poison in

our society; its adverse effects can be seen taking root around the country as fifteen-year-olds tote

toddlers and criminals carry out their plans. Programming has gone from being afraid of even having a

husband and wife in the same bed (case in point: I Love Lucy) to displaying everything but the climax

(and even that in some cases). It has gone from wholesome family stories where everyone says “Aw,

shucks!” to gory, nauseating murder shows where much more colorful expletives are used. Society has

taken a marked downhill trend in their values and morals, and it seems to mirror what’s being shown on

television. Since our society isn’t going to change itself, let’s try starting with the television.