A thoughtful piece from Mark Lawson on Interactive TV - Call the shots from the sofa - it's good to see someone at last noting that a Sky package is far more expensive than the TV licence.
I tend to agree with him about the trend to choose trivialisation.
However, what I see emerging in society is a divide between knowledge levels. There are people who are choosing the easier availability of knowledge to enhance their own understanding of the world. And there are those who aren't.
There was a story in the news yesterday about a doctor who subjected his patients to sexual assaults for 17 years, including asking female patients with ear aches to strip naked for a full physical.
Nobody complained for 17 years. Three victims - sisters - were interviewed, and, basically, said that they didn't question his methods because the 'doctor knows best'.
There is plenty of information available and easily accessible about what conduct we should expect from our doctors. I have had a numerous conversations over the years about experiences in doctors' surgeries. People are choosing not to use this information, instead they are following closely the lives of characters and actors in soaps, or are obsessing about diets aimed 'merely' at weight-loss. I can't feel terribly sympathetic towards people who colluded through their chosen ignorance to their own victimisation.
For the first time in human history, neither the Government nor the economy can erect barriers to knowledge. For the first time we have to take responsibility for ourselves. That we choose not to is our own fault.
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