Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Why I Am So Chill

Matt mentions that he started freaking out over health care reform just after returning to the United States, until he realized that it was just because he had been put back in touch with cable news.

Not to get all I-don't-have-a-TV on you, but I unplugged my TV when Buffy went off the air. And then I moved to Singapore, where my apartment came furnished with two TVs that I never watch. Text is so much faster as a way of taking in information that I use it exclusively, and I find the emotional agitation of cable news overstimulating. Sometimes if there's something everyone's talking about, I'll watch it on YouTube, but that's about it.

This has resulted in me being more or less perpetually sanguine about the prospects for health care reform. Okay, during the months when Max Baucus was blocking the legislation, I got kind of annoyed. But for the most part I've spent the last few months telling Facebook friends that things will turn out okay. Write your Senator and all, but be mostly confident that it's gonna work out.

Nick has a TV, so I don't know how he does it.

5 comments:

Quixote said...

Plus Buffy's available online now, so we're set.

Blar said...

Nice. Could you write a post about why you write such good blog posts?

Hope said...

Check out the Daily Show from October 12. Jon Stewart has a scathing review of how CNN TV shows "Leave it there," without ever analyzing or even discussing dubious comments that guests make. And the Colbert Report from the same day compares Stephen to Glenn Beck - hilarious.

As for me, I only watch the Daily Show, and occasionally Colbert Report (both on computer), and a few dramas (check out Dollhouse - lots of interesting philosophical moments). Cable news is pernicious and disgusting - leads to a melting of brain cells!

Neil Sinhababu said...

I was wondering whether anyone was going to catch the Nietzsche reference -- well done, Blar.

Yeah, Hope, it's those Comedy Central shows that convince me that TV isn't wholly worthless.

Ruckus said...

I must be more sensitive to BS than you because I seem to be pissed and discouraged a lot these days and I don't get cable or broadcast TV, or read what passes for newsprint. I get my news from the internet. And it's still upsetting.