Last night, apparently, there was an entertainment broadcast to the world – the first Trump – Biden debate of 2020. Surprising precisely no-one, the president said awful things and behaved badly. But that’s not what I’m thinking about, right now.
On my Twitter feed this morning, I saw lots of gasping and horror tweets from last night. And the other things I saw were people who didn’t spend the evening in front of the television talking about how they were doing okay, having spent time with their dogs, or made some dinner, or done other things that made them feel good about themselves.
And here’s the thing: all the moaning people were ones who were not actively engaged in self-care. Instead, they were watching TV. And what were they watching? Not a story that got them imagining a different world, nor a morality play that told them who they were. No, they were watching a parody of a conversation, in which no surprises occurred. If, on Saturday, you’d asked anyone (not a pundit, because they’re paid not to think) what would happen during the event, you’d have gotten a perfect run-down. And the moaning tweeters were saying that they were watching this event because it was somehow important to the functioning of the apparatus of government, or maybe the culture of the nation.
I think that’s wrong. I think that what really happened is, TV just got people to volunteer to suffer for hours rather than do something life-affirming like make delicious curry or play with their dogs. Sure, sure, the politicians are horrible, and some are way more horrible than others, and voting the bastard out is really important. But you know what else is important? You. You are important. Your sanity, your happiness, and your life are important. And you are more precious than TV. A moment of reflection will show you that TV doesn’t care about you at all; there is no good reason for you to care about it. It will not save you.
Turn off the idiot box. Starve the attention seekers. Take care of yourself.