My friend, Bryan, wrote this earlier this week:

On one of our evening walks recently, we realized that we could see the glow from all of the televisions in all of the living rooms on our block. It was just past Dark, that time of the evening that casts a blue light over everything. There was a slight cool breeze, and leaves were drifting down all around us from the canopy of old trees that live on our street. The air was just crisp enough to need a light sweater. It was a great night for a walk. And we were the only people on the street.

It seems like most of the world is missing out, and television might be to blame. I know, if we got rid of television, we’d find something else to numb our minds with and waste our time. Let’s pretend for a moment though, that time wasting activities like television watching and web surfing became unacceptable in society. In other words, we’d still use tv and internet for the useful technologies they offer us, but we’d, by general consensus, stop wasting time with them (I know, we all have that choice anyways don’t we?). I guess I just wonder if ridding ourselves of these time wasters and mind-warper’s would help our society.

Would people start going outside more, taking walks, playing kickball at the park, having cookouts? Would we meet our neighbors? Would our interactions, void of distraction, become deeper and more meaningful? Would marriages last longer and grow more intimate? Would we know our neighbors? Would we be more aware of the people and needs around us? Would we suddenly wake up?

I don’t know, but I wonder.