Its sundowning in America - Paul Krugman

[slightlv]

18. I still blame quite a bit of the dumbing down on television.

I remember back in the "old days" we had more real history and science to watch. Maybe it was just because my that was my Dad's preferred subject matter to watch, but it was richer than most anything I see on the regular "History" channel. Heck, if ya'll remember "SchoolHouse Rock" even the commercials were educational!

And while we DID have our share of just fun tv... like the Lucy show, for example... we also had shows like Star Trek and Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits, which gave us at times pieces of history but also allowed us to stretch our mind and imagine reaching for the stars.

What do we have today? Sports and "reality" TV. The History of Drinking. Add all that to educational standards that seemed to keep going lower each year, and here we are.

I'm turning 70 in two weeks, so maybe that slants my memory... I just remember at my house we never missed a space shot, and when we landed on the moon, my Dad turned it into a teaching moment by taking me outside where we could still see a wide expanse of stars above us. Heck, we could even see the Milky Way. Today, our street lights... several on every block... totally block out all but the brightest of stars. Gods, save me now. I'm getting nostalgic! (LOL)