[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 54 (Thursday, April 26, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3970-S3971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE ROLE OF TELEVISION
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes to discuss an
issue that I have addressed several times before on this floor--that
is, the role of television in the lives of the American people. Today's
television would have you believe that the television program ``How to
Marry a Millionaire'' is a guide on how to find the perfect mate; that
``Temptation Island'' is a guide to stable relationships; that Al Bundy
is a paragon of parental nurturing, while his wife, Peg Bundy is
reflective of virtuous American womanhood; that ``Who Wants To Be a
Millionaire?'' is educational television.
I am ashamed and embarrassed that according to a survey by the
Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, 70
percent of the parents surveyed regard ``Who Wants To Be a
Millionaire?'' as educational television.
I regret to say that the sorry state of television is becoming the
sorry state of America: 59 percent of Americans can name the three
Stooges, but only 17 percent of the American people can name three
Supreme Court Justices; only about 50 percent of the American people
could identify the Vice President of the United States, but 95 percent
could identify Homer, Bart, and Marge Simpson.
Three years ago, I came to this floor to express my shock and utter
amazement at the details of a story in Time magazine entitled,
``Everything Your Children Already Know About Sex.'' The story told how
our children are learning their sexual values from television programs
like ``Dawson's Creek,'' which boasted of a character who lost her
virginity at the age of 12 while drunk. There was ``Buffy the Vampire
Slayer'' in which a male vampire turned bad after having sex with 17-
year-old Buffy.
``Why are we letting our kids watch this morally degrading,
thoroughly demeaning, junk on the airwaves?'' I asked.
But from that low point, television has only continued to degenerate.
It seems that many television programs are busily intent on answering
the question, ``how low can you go?'' with the fare that they put
before us.
The land, the society, the country that once produced the works of
James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, now
gives us the works of Howard Stern and Jerry Springer. No wonder the
late Steve Allen, a pioneer in the television industry, complained that
television had become a ``moral sewer.''
When I think of television today, I seriously wonder whether Charles
Darwin's theory of evolution is being stood on its head by popular
culture. Evolution implies progress. Going from the musical
accomplishments of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart to the groans and moans
of HBO's ``Sex in the City'' is anything but progress.
By the age of 18, the average American child will have viewed about
200,000 acts of violence on television. Before that child leaves
elementary school, that child will have watched, on the average, about
20,000 murders and more than 80,000 other assaults. This means that
during their most formative years, our children will witness
approximately 100,000 acts of violence.
But the problem with television is more than the content of the
programs alone. It is the nature of the beast--or should I say, the
nature of the boob tube. There are 102 million TV homes in the USA; 42
percent of them have three or more sets. The average American spends
four hours of each day--that amounts to two full months of each year--
staring at the boob tube. Forty percent of the American people stare at
the boob tube even while eating.
The negative impact of too much television is becoming more and more
apparent as more and more studies have demonstrated: the link between
television violence and real violence; the link between television and
increasing obesity among young people; the link between television and
declining interest in the fine arts; the link between television
viewing and low academic performance. To put it bluntly, Mr. President,
television is helping to create a morally irresponsible, overweight,
lazy, violent, and ill-informed society.
Mr. President, this week, April 23-29, is national ``TV Turnoff
Week.'' Turn it off! Let's have more turnoff weeks; make it 52 weeks of
the year, national ``TV Turnoff Week.'' This is an effort sponsored by
the TV-Turnoff Network, a grass-roots organization that has organized
thousands of schools, clubs, community organizations, and religious
groups to get the American people to turn off or limit their television
viewing for one week to discover that there is actually life beyond the
boob tube. The group has won the support and endorsements of dozens of
powerful organizations, such as the American Medical Association. They
have certainly won my support and my hearty endorsement. Hallelujah!
Turn off that TV.
The organization's motto is, ``Turn off TV. Turn on life.'' Their
point is well taken. Life should be more rewarding and interesting than
sitting in front of a box and becoming mesmerized with morally
degrading, mind-numbing nonsense. That is what it is.
Instead of sitting in front of the television for 4 hours a day, get
some exercise! Get out-of-doors. Go for a walk, a hike, a bike ride, or
swim. It will be far better for your health.
Instead of sitting in front of the television for 4 hours a day, read
a good book! Read Emerson's Essays, Carlyle's ``History of the French
Revolution,'' read history, read the Bible, read Milton's ``Paradise
Lost, Paradise Regained.'' Read ``Robinson Crusoe.'' Read something
that is worth reading. I ask, which will make one a better person,
spending hours watching ``Survivor,'' ``Big Brother,'' and ``The
Weakest Link,'' or using the time to read a great literary work by
Shakespeare, Dickens, or Goethe. Groucho Marx said that he found
television to be very educational because, ``Every time somebody turns
on a set, I go into the other room and read a book.'' I like that. I
say, ``be like Groucho.'' Let's have more Groucho's. Simply turn off
the television set and read a good book.
Instead of sitting in front of the television for 4 hours a day,
spend some time with the family. Family members can use the opportunity
to take a trip together to the local museum or art gallery, or simply
talk to each other during dinner. Make your family the center of home
life, not the television set. Studies by professor Barbara Brock at
Eastern Washington University found that in TV-free families, parents
have about an hour of meaningful conversation with their children every
day, compared with the national average of 38 minutes a week. Here
would be an opportunity for parents to emphasize their values--not
Hollywood's--to their most precious asset--their children.
I don't want to leave the impression that all television is bad. I
have seen some very educational, very informative, very uplifting, very
good pictures, shows, and plays on television. There is much
programming that is truly educational. I have been to one movie since I
have been in Washington. I have been in Washington now 49 years. I have
been to one movie. I left that movie. I didn't stay and watch it
through. I became bored and I walked out. Yul Brynner was, I think, the
main player in that movie. I walked out. But just within the last few
weeks, I watched a picture in which Yul Brynner played. I believe it
was--I am trying to remember now. I have watched some good pictures
recently. I watched ``The Ten Commandments,'' which was a good picture.
That may have been it. Yul Brynner plays in it and I liked him in it.
He played well. So I don't want to leave the impression that all
television is bad. I think that C-Span, PBS, and the History Channel
[[Page S3971]]
provide worthwhile viewing to the audience. I also believe that
programming like Ken Burns's series on the Civil War is quality
programming that expands our knowledge and deepens understanding.
But I do want to emphatically stress that there is much more to life
than the boring, degrading, demeaning fare on the boob tube. I urge the
American people to use this week to break your addiction to television.
Just say no! As the TV-Turnoff Network urges, ``turn off TV, turn on
life.''
In addition to becoming healthier, both mentally and physically, one
might be able to name three Justices on the Supreme Court.
One might even be able to name the Vice President of the United
States.
Mr. President, I applaud the efforts of the TV-Turnoff Network and
urge them to keep up the good work. And I urge my colleagues and the
American people to participate in national ``TV Turnoff Week.''
Mr. President, I have another statement I want to make. But I am very
conscious of the fact that my favorite U.S. Senator on this side of the
aisle has been on the floor waiting. I am very willing to set aside my
speech and listen to my colleague before I proceed further.
(Mr. ENZI assumed the chair.)
Mr. KENNEDY. If the Senator will yield, I thank the Senator from West
Virginia, who is typically courteous, as always. I am very grateful for
his thoughtfulness. I welcome the opportunity to continue to listen to
his very fine statements. There are many important things that are
happening in the Nation's Capitol and around this country today, but I
think if the American people will pause and listen to the good advice
of my friend and colleague about the importance of reading as opposed
to television, in his excellent presentation, I think this would be a
wiser and more thoughtful country. I commend the Senator for his
statement and the subject matter. I look forward to continue listening.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank my colleague. But I want to give him
a second chance. I want to give my friend a second chance. I want to
warn him that this is poetry month. I am all ready to talk about
poetry, and I am ready to at least render my memorization of at least 8
or 10 or 12 poems. So I will give my colleague one more chance. If he
would like to make his speech now before I start, I would be happy to
yield.
Mr. KENNEDY. The Senator may be even more reluctant to interfere. We
have a good prospect of listening to him quote poetry. All of us are
enormously impressed that when the Senator travels back to West
Virginia, he takes time to learn and to memorize poems. As a result of
that experience, and a very long and distinguished career in the
Senate, he has an enormous reservoir of knowledge of poetry and an
incredible encyclopedic memory for poetry that always seems to be right
for every special occasion. I look forward to hearing some of those
this afternoon.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank Senator Kennedy. I really have
enjoyed my long service with the distinguished senior Senator from
Massachusetts. I have learned a great deal from him, and I prize that
friendship.
Mr. KENNEDY. If the Senator will yield, does the Senator intend to
mention that wonderful poem about the ambulance in the valley? That was
always one of my favorites. I don't know whether the Senator planned to
include that.
Mr. BYRD. I did not plan to include it, but I will be happy to try to
do that.
Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Senator.
Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator. That is very thoughtful of him and
very good of him. I appreciate his interest in that particular poem,
among others. Let's do it this way. I will make my speech and do the
poems that I have included, and then I will give the Senator a chance
to make his speech, and if he is still interested in my giving that
poem, I will be happy to, or I will be happy to wait until another day.
Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Senator.
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