TV Not a Government Responsibility

By Logan Ferrell ('11)

These days, it is hard to turn on the TV or open the paper without hearing or reading more bad news. More people have lost their jobs, another business has imploded, and Gaza has seen another round of bombing .

In times like these, where it is easy to believe that the world we were accustomed to is crumbling around us, it is comforting that our government has maintained clear objectives and prioritized the issue most important to the American people: television.

Cynicism aside, it is true that the United States House of Representatives spent this past Wednesday debating not the economy or national defense, but rather which date would be best for the switch to digital television. I had no idea that this was such a contentious and crucial issue. However, for an issue that has now been the subject of debate in both houses and statements by the new president himself, it must be.

The switch from analog to digital television originally planned for this February has now been postponed to mid-June of this year because not enough people have had time to “prepare.” To prepare, people are expected either to purchase a new television or a converter for the one they already have. While people have rediscovered the importance of saving and frugality, they are encouraged to run out and buy an entirely unnecessary leisure activity. The converters may be purchased using a coupon provided by the federal government for that purpose alone; that’s right, the government is spending money so that every citizen may improve the quality of their television experience.

People are forced to assume that the move is to improve their viewing, as the only concrete advantage accorded to the transition is better picture quality. So far, the government has provided no true explanation for the necessity of the transition, or how it will improve the lives of Americans at all. It seems that such a program, whose benefits have still not been made clear, is no different than if the federal government were to decree that by August, everyone must throw away their CDs and purchase an iPod. It is a program which lends government sponsorship to the very device that dominates entertainment and discourages activities like reading or sports.

I am as guilty as anybody else in enjoying television, but I cannot see how it is either the responsibility or purview of the national legislature to spend time debating television when the nation faces so many more serious problems. Despite my earlier cynicism, I retain hope in an idealistic government focused on the needs of the nation.

That being said, I only hope that this debate is a fleeting one and not a distraction from the problems at hand. This absurd debate over digital television may indeed be a symbol of both the nation and the roots of the current crisis: we have lost sight of what truly matters.