By Christina Lavers
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
“Television is by nature the dominator drug par excellence. Control of content, uniformity of content, repeatability of content make it inevitably a tool of coercion, brainwashing, and manipulation.” Terence McKenna
I can remember the first time I became aware of the television. I would have been very young, too young to understand what I was seeing. I recall being struck by the power, by the allure of the sounds and moving colors; its draw was compelling and hypnotic. As I got older and able to appreciate the stories it told, I no longer saw it as a mysterious, awesome force dancing in my living room, instead it became like an easy companion, its authority and influence carefully tucked away between the smiling faces and captivating plots. I could spend hours lost in the comfort of the illusions that emanated from that magical box. Oblivious to the fact that the seemingly benign shows I allowed myself to be engrossed in were actively, and subliminally, shaping my mind and guiding my belief system, I lapped up the free entertainment.
