by Casey Case

Created on: February 17, 2009

Some of us won't be making the switch to digital television. It's not because I can't afford cable or satellite television, I can. It's not because I missed out on getting one of those cute little government coupons to offset the price of a converter; I never ordered one. It's because I am taking this opportunity to rid myself of the whole obnoxious thing. Does that mean I won't watch any television at all? Of course not. It just means that now I am in control of what I watch. And the two things I won't be watching anymore are endless commercials and mindless journalists. No more ads; no more news. Both are nothing more than elaborately fabricated sales pitches. One attempts to sell products and services while the other attempts to sell its own agenda and politics. I'm sick of both of them.

My transition to no TV began after I moved. I can't understand why any pimple-faced kid in the mall can turn on the satellite television, but executives on the highest levels of the same company cannot. We spent the better part of a year trying to lose Direct TV. The only thing harder to shut down is a cell phone (which has also been abandoned now). We had grown weary of watching nothing more than menus trying to find anything on 500 channels to watch. When we moved, we decided to try going back to "rabbit ears" only to discover that the four major networks couldn't find a decent program to air if their ratings depended on it. And if they could, they could never cram in between the commercials. Then there is the news.

The biggest loser in the recent election wasn't the Republican Party; it was television journalism which lost any remaining trace of creditability or objectivity during the campaign. Don Henley was right when he said, "She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye." Did anyone but me see the disappointment in Katie Couric's eyes when she had to report that all 155 people on board flight 1547 survived? Not satisfied with the results, Ann Curry grilled "experts" (fellow journalists) on what should have went wrong on the Today Show looking for anything that could cast the story into the dark. Sad. Very sad.

In the meantime, what has happening is interesting. I have found myself reading again or re-engaging in hobbies. We sit at the dinner table without any conversation but our own and share the daily events of our own lives. Our son's grades shot straight up to a perfect 4.0 within the first two semesters. I have lost weight and began exercising again. I write and receive actual letters in the mail now. More than anything though, my anxiety levels and blood pressure have dropped dramatically. The noise in our lives is gone. And tomorrow, February 17, 2009, the rest of it is gone for good. Good riddance. Thank you digital conversion.

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