Rooms in our own homes seem warmer and more welcoming when the static lights are turned off and candles are aflame. Windows are just a bit more intriguing when raindrops are running down them. Lightening storms are simply awe inspiring. But if you consistently surround yourself and your life with flickering light you will soon notice it begins to feel like an addiction. When you go long periods without it you grow depressed. You feel cold, distant and alone.

In our pursuit of this tranquility, this peacefulness, we have created man made tools and devices that provide us with artificial flickering light. But while Fourth of July fireworks and sparklers are the ‘show’ themselves and fire places provide many with a welcome respite from the busy day, most illustrations, instead of being the experience itself, are used to enhance an experience. From disco balls and strobe lights to twinkling Christmas lights and laser light shows, or simply holding a lighter up at a concert (which has now been inadequately replaced with the non-flickering cell phone), these lightenings are making our commonplace experiences more memorable and sensory pleasing.

The Farnsworth Invention

There is one manmade flickering light device that I struggle to qualify, struggle to accept, but worst of all, I struggle to live without it: television. Hunting tools, language, metalworking, irrigation, the wheel, the sewing needle, the clock, the abacus, the ball bearing, the electric motor, the automobile, and the computer; these are indispensable inventions. Along with these, the television is one of the most important inventions of humankind. It is a useful tool that once brought people together, but is now, it seems, merely a means to advertise, to numb, and to disconnect its viewers from each other and from themselves. It’s unlike any of nature’s flickering light in that it doesn’t provide you with the accompanying quiet time to reflect upon life; to think about yourself, your day, your family and your place in this world. You are passive in the experience of watching television. Even though personal reflection may be perceived as passive, there is a mentally active aspect to it: you’re not being force-fed thoughts. Sitting around a camp fire talking, laughing, or relaxing quietly with friends is an unequivocally active endeavor as compared to watching television. Television only goes one way; there is no interaction involved.

This isn’t to say that television is an evil device that should be thrown out with the garbage as part of some anti-television pro-radio revolution. Sorry Buggles, the pictures haven't broken any hearts. Cable and satellite television have brought the long tail of entertainment into your living room and there is definitely some quality entertainment to be found, regardless of your interests. Watching engaging television is as legitimate a pursuit as reading a book or seeing a play or heading to the orchestra. We all like to be entertained for a bit after a long day of work and entertainment is a core experience that brings people together. No one should be begrudged because they watch the tube.

I wasn’t always this open to the medium in general. Shows like American Idol would make me cringe. It was my opinion that shows of that nature were contributing to the downfall of America. I was convinced that what I chose to watch was a more enlightening choice. I watched programs like The Family Guy, LOST, The Office, John From Cincinnati, Californication, or Tell Me You Love Me. These shows were, in my eyes, all much nobler ways to spend your time watching television. The specifics of why and how though were vague and not as important as the thought itself. Just writing out my previously held beliefs now though makes me shudder at my holier-than-thou stance. I guess, at times, when we get set in our ways we can be jerks and I’m certainly not immune to that. Who am I to determine what is worthwhile for another to watch? If American Idol somehow provides enjoyment to its viewer or touches them emotionally, then it is no different from the shows I watch and the experience I get watching them.

Cliffhanger Alert!

Interestingly enough I started writing this piece with the intention of taking to task the idea of television and shows like American Idol, giving a lecture of sorts on the merits, or lack thereof, of television. I am certainly one prone to lecturing, but here my thoughts ended up being the exact opposite of where I thought they would go. Did I just talk myself into loving TV?

But I still feel conflicted. Something about this flickering light still bothers me and that is what I need to figure out because, if it’s not the particular shows that have me concerned, then it must be something else, something bigger perhaps. Are we being held captive in our own homes regardless of what we watch? Is there a certain amount of television viewing that, when reached, offsets any of the possible benefits that we may get from watching in the first place? Do those who never watch TV experience a quantifiably happier life or just happiness of a different variety? Is overcoming this gnawing feeling of contradiction an all-or-nothing pursuit?

For these answers and most likely even more questions, tune in next week for the conclusion of "The Ubiquitous Box of Flickering Light!"