Wonderful article. At first, I bit - then it became patently evident just “who” the “guest” was. - My Dad got a tv early on as he was always pretty “progressive”. My first favorite program was “Howdy Doody”. In retrospect, “Doody” might well have been a good name for T.V. instead.
I’m 62 and “Doody” has been present in my life for at least 56 years - getting regressively worse all the time. My husband was raised with no TV as his mother wouldn’t allow one in the house (the best thing really). Only, it made him rebellious about not “having” what all the other kids had. So, when we were married (44 yrs. now), TV, newspapers, crosswords and other puzzles became his mistresses. Our family suffered for it. I haven’t watched daytime TV in 37 years, and some nighttime TV is harder for me to get rid of on PBS. I’d toss the thing if it were up to me, the only saving grace for it is the weather forecast. The “news” I could do without.
An interesting cautionary tale, Twinkie, for those who would fight pop culture in toto. Where to draw the line?