Television, The Drug of the Nation

[GuvWurld]

I have not had a TV for about a year and a half now and I'm so glad for that. I understand what a travesty last night's debate was and seeing so much commentary on it put me in mind of a song from 1992 by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, featuring Michael Franti, who is much more well known now with his band Spearhead. The song is called Television, The Drug of the Nation (.mp3). Lyrics below.

http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Disposable-Heroes-Of-Hiphoprisy/Television-The-Drug-Of-The-Nation.html

Television, The Drug Of The Nation

One Nation under God
has turned into
One Nation under the influence
of one drug

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., I.T. satellite links
our United States of unconciousness
Apathetic therapeutic and extremely addictive
the methadone metronome pumping out
150 channels 24 hours a day
you can flip through all of them
and still there's nothing worth watching

T.V. is the reason why less than ten percent of our
Nation reads books daily
Why most people think Central America
means Kansas
Socialism means unamerican
and Apartheid is a new headache remedy

absorbed in it's world it's so hard to find us
It shapes our minds the most
maybe the mother of our Nation
should remind us
that we're sitting to close to. . .

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V. is
the stomping ground for political candidates
Where bears in the woods
are chased by Grecian Formula'd
bald eagles

T.V. is mechanized politic's
remote control over the masses
co-sponsered by environmentally safe gases
watch for the PBS special

It's the perpetuation of the two party system
where image takes precedence over wisdom
Where sound bite politics are served to
the fastfood culture

Where straight teeth in your mouth
are more important than the words
that come out of it
Race baiting is the way to get selected
Willie Horton or
Will he not get elected on . . .

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V. is it the reflector or the director?
Does it imitate us or do we imitate it
Because a child watches 1500 murders before he's
twelve years old and we wonder how we've created
a Jason generation that learns to laugh
rather than abhor the horror

T.V. is the place where
armchair generals and quarterbacks can
experience first hand
the excitement of video warfare
as the theme song is sung in the background

Sugar sweet sitcoms
that leave us with a bad actor taste while
pop stars metamorphosize into soda pop stars
You saw the video
You heard the soundtrack
Well now go buy the soft drink
Well, the only cola that I support
would be a union C.O.L.A. (Cost of Living Allownace)
On Television.

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

Back again, "New and Improved",
we return to our irregularly programmed schedule
hidden cleverly between heavy breasted
beer and car commericals

CNN ESPN ABC TNT but mostly B.S.
Where oxymoronic language like
"virtually spotless" "fresh frozen"
"light yet filling" and "military intelligence"
have become standard

T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"Civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own Army
is now called "friendly fire"

T.V. is the place where the pursuit
of happiness has become the pursuit of trivia
Where toothpaste and cars have become sex objects
Where imagination is sucked out of children
by a cathode ray nipple
T.V. is the only wet nurse
that would create a cripple

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation
On Television . . .

[lostnotforgotten]

1. TV Free For Six Years Now - My Mind Never Felt Better!

eom

[Lorien]

16. But there is one odd thing about living TV free in a TV drugged Nation

everyone else seems to be having the same conversation. I mean EVERYONE. Even here on DU I've heard about how awful the debates were, and how there's a compound full off women who are all members of some sort of polygamous cult in Texas,and that Brittany Spears is now considered mentally ill and her younger sister is pregnant. How do I know thee things without watching TV? I know about them because everyone everywhere seems to be on the same message. As if there is absolutely nothing in their own lives or issues anywhere that are nearly as important as the media story du jour. It's downright unnerving.

[Echo In Light]

23. Brainwashed populace

I'll take your evil wind
And give it right back to ya
Hungry buzzards are waiting
On the grey fence of ignorance
It's a classic case
They obfuscate
A brainwashed populace

Screaming crows and sirens
A normal world is cryin'
Bright bird of redemption
Winged truth with eyes of fire
One more fool
Divide and rule
A brainwashed populace

You dance around the question
Cause the answers you must hide
You crept into this dimension
Now be lost through all time
It's a classic case
They obfuscate
A brainwashed populace

~ Spirit Caravan, Brainwashed

[Melynn]

2. Is the Internet the new Drug of the Nation?

The Internet is a drug for me. How about you?

[stillcool]

7. definitely for me..

I'm addicted to information. Absolutely thrilled when I can make sense out of something that never made sense. Must be my starved youth.

[paulk]

3. actually, the song was first recorded by a band called the

"beatnigs". SF band that Franti was a member of...

trivia trivia trivia!

[GuvWurld]

8. Right you are! Beatnigs YouTube link here.

A lot of the lyrics made it into the later, Disposable Heroes version, but the song itself sounds totally different. Plus this video is pretty crazy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82m6FrqHFFg

[paulk]

9. I was a big fan at the time

I've still got the original LP lying around here somewhere...

[GuvWurld]

10. Michael Franti is a very special human being

many people know this, as I'm sure you do paulk.

[SCDem]

4. TV free for only 3 months

But I love - and really love it when I hear all I missed was a crappy debate and then more commentary or better yet crappy commentary on a crappy debate!

[GuvWurld]

5. Ding Ding Ding. Winner here.

I have had no interest in the campaign at all and find it sad that the country can be so absorbed in the charade. Who doesn't get that our so-called "elections" are unverifiable and "counted" in secret? Please. We're all being played. It is long past time for popular revolt in this country. Anything less will be met with the response, "So?" We all know it, and it is time to face it.

[SCDem]

29. Great Misconception

is that you have to be "tuned" in inorder to keep pace with what is going on. Read a paper or the internet - you can still be an informed activist.

You have a great blog - and it's great to see pictures from Humboldt - makes me want to go visit a microbrew and have an IPA! And take a walk in the wonderful Humboldt woods.

[silverweb]

6. Early Franti.

The man only gets more awesome with time. :loveya:

[blondie58]

11. tv free going on a year now

and I don't really miss it. Now, take my computer away and I will go through withdrawal! It really has affected our society. Remember when people used to take a walk after dinner and other neighbors would be out on their porches to say hi? Everyone is isolated in their own homes now.

[GuvWurld]

12. I take a walk after dinner every night!

It is really good for digestion :-)

But by and large I totally agree with your post :thumbsup:

[Lorien]

18. Me too. I walk one of my cats on a leash around the neighborhood

so I know my neighbors who walk their dogs or jog-but no one else. The rest of the world has cocooned itself away and only wants one sided "relationships" with people on their giant flat screens.

[Land Shark]

13. Thanks for these lyrics GuvWurld. Lotsa poetic truth in there. nt

[ben_meyers]

14. Newton Minnow, 1961

"When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better.
But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there for a day without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you — and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasteland_Speech

[misanthrope]

15. My wife is addicted to television...

...She has it on 24 hours a day. Within the last couple of years, I watched her spend an entire week of paid vacation, literally on the sofa watching television continuously. She went to the kitchen, the bathroom, occasional forays out to the clothes dryer, but she ate in front of, even slept in front of the television for a solid week. Even now, she goes straight to the TV when she gets home and stays glued to it.

One Saturday I came in and she was watching a marathon of some show called "Intervention" that shows various chemical addicts and the steps taken by their families to break their cycles of abuse. I asked her as I passed through the room whether they ever had an intervention for television addiction on there. She barely heard me and certainly didn't grip the irony.

And my in-laws think there is nothing too strange about her "habit." They see it as mostly normal behavior.

[Lorien]

17. I so sorry that she can't pull herself away from the glass teat long

enough to live life beside you. I've seen my father go through something similar-though it's not on 24 hours a day (yet). No one in our family had a TV throughout the 1970's and most of the 80's. My father got one around 1998, then upgraded to a home theater a few years ago. I went home to spend my 40th birthday with my family. Oddly, everyone had other plans on the day itself, so I asked my father if he would at least like to do dinner with me. He said that he couldn't because "Law and Order" was on that evening. Now mind you, I only see my family for about five days a year, so that was a bit of a blow!

I know other people like your wife; people who turn on the television the moment they wake up in the morning and leave it on until they fall asleep at night I honestly don't understand how they can stand it; it bores me sick, and the commercials are intolerable. It's so much more MINDLESS than it was the last time I really watched it (the late 80's and early 90's) and I thought it was bad then! I'd much rather read DU, listen to a TED talk or other informative, challenging podcast, read a book, or best of all-spend time with a friend. But most of my friends are off watching their favorite shows. :-(

Have you ever had a serious talk with her about it? Have you asked her why she likes it so much? I often wonder if our lives will flash before our eyes at the end. If it does, some people will only be watching OTHER peoples lives and endless reruns and commercials when it happens.

[Nay]

21. My hubby is addicted. Funny thing is, I can come in the room and

ask him what is going on in the show, and even tho he's been watching, he can't tell me much about it. I think the movement on the screen captivates some ppl, and it doesn't even matter what the story is. That's dangerous. Has anyone ever read a book and not cared what the story was? I don't think so. TV is a drug, no doubt about it. And yes, I wish my hubby would do something besides lie in front of the idiot box.

[Greyhound]

19. I still listen to that CD regularly, just brilliant.

Their cover/version of "California Uber Alles" is great too.
:kick: & R

TV free (DVDs aside) for 2 years.

[semillama]

28. The music is some of the best hip-hop ever recorded, I think.

Lyrics aside, there's nothing else like it out there - the closest I've heard has been Material's Intonarumori album. It's really creative, imaginative and beautiful.

Too bad that DHH didn't make more of an impact on the genre.

[CRF450]

20. I dunno how you people do it, I cant keep myself from the tv or computer

When I'm at home not having anything to do, I gotta has some kind of entertainment. Their are many shows I enjoy anyways.

[liberal N proud]

22. It we didn't have TV we would have revolted by now

The television keeps us pacified and in our easy chairs and out of the streets marching on Washington demanding accountability for the crimes these monsters have committed.

[Echo In Light]

24. I would agree with that: tell-a-vision, sports {pure U.S. religion}, and consumerism

Most of the popular corporate culture pastimes are geared toward keeping people on the Right path. If you research the concept of "manufactured consent," an ideological Establishment leveraging tool that benefits the elites who manage our "democracy," a key point of its efficacy was/is focusing on thought control out and away from the workplace.

[datasuspect]

25. that's what almost happened in the 1930s

i truly believe that tv is the greatest narcotic out there. it is the greatest asset to the repressive regime. they don't have to spend one bullet to keep us in line. all they have to do is keep pumping out programming.

[Echo In Light]

26. ...

[RB TexLa]

27. Try telling DU that you didn't realize how many people turn their tv's on every day of the week

and watch the flamefest about about how you are out of touch come in.

[Fumesucker]

30. I can't tell you how many times...

I've had someone tell me I'm addicted to the internet.. By people that watch TV constantly.

When you point out to them the double standard they say something along the lines of "but that's different"..

Well, yes, the internet at least has the possibility of being an interactive medium.. TV? Not so much.