I Don’t Get My Political News From TV

Mostly, I read many points of view and many sources. I like to think that my consent is not manufactured.

Since about 2015, I’ve taken notice of just how much money is spent on advertising and “earned media”. People like Bernie Sanders and Larry Lessig raised my awareness of money in politics. I’ve taken notice of how people can allow themselves to be persuaded by political advertising. I understand now why enormous sums of money are spent to get images and sounds in front of people sitting passively in front of a TV. Political advertising is often designed to manufacture consent.

I’m not really much of a TV guy. When I was a kid, I’d come home from school and watch Speed Racer, ancient Popeye cartoons by Max Fleischer, and maybe a bit of the Electric Company. Ahhh, the Electric Company. I remember Morgan Freeman as the Easy Reader. He was cool.

Still, I can recall how I’d feel watching TV. I’d see that the day is passing me by, so I limited my time in front of the TV. I remembered that my friends were outside of the house. I’d know that the sun is moving across the sky out there. My bike called to me to ride it. The parks called to me to walk through them. If the weather was not so great, then there were books to read. I read many more books as a young man than I do now. And now, most of my reading is online, with fresh news, science, data, and politics.