Hello, Benjamin from Brother’s Campfire here!
I was raised without a television and I am seeing the benefits of it.
We do not have a television in our home. We do have technology such as tablets, computers, and game systems, but we keep Hollywood, Bollywood, and many other mediums to a minimum.
There are too many agendas and voices and the producers dont even know where they are going.
For example, Arnie the Donut is an entertaining book with what I believe to be a well thought out message.
Here is my take after listening to this a million and one times in the car.
There is no middle ground or negotiating; a donut is a donut, the work of a man’s hands to be eaten.
This is what the Bible has to say.
Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Isaiah 45:9 KJV
It seems absurd that the Bible would put a voice to pottery.
Creations of our hands speak to us though.
Does the alcohol speak to you? What about the cigarettes or lotto tickets? I bet I can make an case that they do a little more than whisper. These are all man made.
It is important that we take control of our devices and inventions, to include the siren song of the donut.
Are there good things out there? You betcha.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson speaks to me. I admire his work ethic and try to adhere to many of his quotes.
“When life puts you in touchy situations, don’t say “Why Me?” Just say “Try Me.”” – Dwayne Johnson
“There is no substitute for hard work. Always be humble and hungry.” – Dwayne Johnson
“One of the most important things you can accomplish is just being yourself.” – Dwayne Johnson
“Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.” – Dwayne Johnson
“Don’t work 8 hours for someone else then go home and not work on your dreams. You’re not tired. You’re uninspired.” – Dwayne Johnson
These are some nuggets of wisdom and motivational.
I was able to cherry-pick those quotes though.
Dwayne Johnson, also known as “The Rock” was popular as a wrestler and is a well paid actor.
He also said and did a lot of other things too vulgar to mention here that I do not want my son idolize.
As a child, I thought the voices were something special and I was missing out.
We all have heros growing up.
Heroes can disappoint. I remember one of my childhood pretends was being a war reporter for Newsweek. I even had a “Press Hat” that I wore when I was pretending.
I was reading Newsweek online today and came across this.
https://www.newsweek.com/golden-retriever-distracted-video-squirrels-tiktok-1667882?amp=1
Distracted Golden Retrievers are on my new feed. That concludes the magazine I thought so much of.
These devices we have created are like being stuck in a flood, floating in a dumpster fire, while looking for a half-eaten Snickers bar at the bottom because you are hungry.
We don’t need these devices in such excess. What are they saying to us? Do we think for ourselves?
As an adult, I am thankful we didn’t have the entertainment industry in our life growing up.
Author: Benjamin
Benjamin Thiel is a community leader, urban farmer, and author of The Ongoing Tale at Brothers Campfire. He might know a guy...
Hmm. This is a tough one. As one who likely watches way too much TV, especially in the winter months, I agree, these devices can be all consuming. But, so can a lot of things. Addictive personalities will always find an addiction, whether it be food, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, porn, reading, exercise, TV, radio, board games, electronic games, social media accounts, politics, square dancing, religion, etc. The key to avoid being ensnared may be to have an open, enquiring mind. Don’t just do or watch stuff out of boredom, do it from an enquiring mind position. Include documentaries and news items in your watch and feed list and seek opinions from both sides. It is important to recognize the difference between reality and acting, between news and opinion, etc. The goal is not to get so lost in one pursuit that you forsake all others, as well as reason, common sense and life itself. As Oscar Wilde says, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” One person’s gluttony may be another’s moderation. I think the best thing humanity can do these days is Be Kind. From there, all else is possible. Well, that got way too deep in a hurry. Cheers Benjamin and thanks for provoking thought. Allan
Thank you for taking the time to voice your opinion, Allan! I think you jave valid, strong points.
Documentaries can be very educational but you made some excellent points. I love the quotes.
I like to learn, but there are so many that are kinda fake.
Though I have never seen a full episode of anything, the History Channel is awful .
Forged in the Fire has some cool points from clips I tried to learn from, but a little meh
Ancient Aliens, The Unexplained , Revelation, Skinwalker Ranch are quite educational. 🧐
Dont get me started on the scripted Pawn Stars.
I like his quotes as well!
I always enjoy your posts. Life generates so many questions and so many different answers.
Thanks Geoff. I appreciate you. 🤠🔥
Okay not fair trying to eat less sugar and that do out my friend looked delicious. Lol I hope you enjoyed it😊
I left that sinfully delectable dainty alone. It was hard.
That said as just a photo wasn’t it? 😂lol
Yes.. Pixabay
I’m a fool lol 🤷🏻♀️😂
🍩 🍩
😂
I didn’t grow up with TV on all the time, only restricted access. Which did me well. I can self entertain for hours by just siting in silence or and doing craft stuff. Maybe doing catch up, I do binge on Netflix series in particular documentaries.
Yeah! I lke it!
Good stuff big brother! thinking about how electronics, television ( pretty much anything that has a screen) has some good effects and some bad…it’s really how we use them and what we use them for. Growing up watching television all the time when we did have a tv…that’s all I did. I watched t.v when I was bored, wanted something to do since I had no one to hang out really, my nose was always stuck in the t.v screen; mainly at nights. Thinking about, hours would pass on by where I would loose track of time…it was movie after movie. What was i getting out of it? what good purpose did I get out of it? Did it gain anything positive/healthy? …the answer is No. I watched T.V because it was the only thing I knew that would get my mind off of things and most of all it was an huge addiction. People that get high on drugs, drink, do other things….well people that are so addicted to what ever they are doing; they cant wait to get their next fix/high, next bottle,ect…it’s like they can’t live without it…that’s how It was for me with T.V.
It was like I couldn’t go without it. If we aren’t careful on how we use these electronics/devices, they can destroy a lot in your life. They can destroy your relationship, marriage, family…so much more. I only say this because I’ve seen it happen right before my very eyes. Their were some articles I had read just to see what the numbers/percentages were for couples/teenagers on their phones and how much time couples( married couples ) actually spend time together without their phones.
What I read really didn’t suprise me much…. you can read them for your self if you would like.
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/11/couples-the-internet-and-social-media/
and
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/so-happy-together/201702/time-together-and-time-apart
I guess I’m just old school and hearing the stories my grandma has shared with about the times the family would get together and help milk the goats every day, family gatherings up on the ranch for lunch-have a good old time. They would visit with one and another for hours at the table while they enjoyed their Italian lunch. Every memory my grandma had shared me, I/ noticed/realized something….not once did my grandma mention anything about electronics/ television. Back then as she said, they didn’t have all these electronics we have access to these days. They may had a television BUT they never hardly watched it because they were always busy working, doing chores, taking care of the farm animals, kids going to school then go home and do chores after their homework then off to bed they went. The times after everything was done, they spent time together at the family table. Yeah, I know that was back in the days…times have changed and you are right….times have definitely changed a lot. Do I think of those changes good…yes and no, Yes because some of these devices that we have the advantage of can help us in different ways but only if we use them wisely. Like my pastor said, we need to be careful of how we uses these devices and what we use them for. If we don’t be careful, we can catch our self’s spending hours upon hours on an device and not realize how much time we have waisted to put it plainly. For an example, someone that spends hours on Pinterest ( adult/teenager)….what are the reasons behind that? do you ever wounder how much time you as an parent/ adult is spending on Pinterest ? now you parents, do you check to see how much time your children are spending on Pinterest….do you check to see what they are looking at? Im not against pinterest at all, it can be a helpful tool and fun BUT, if we aren’t careful it can lead to something we wish wouldn’t. I see young kids/teenagers/ young adults that are in school still that have access to Pinterest and they would spend hours and hours on it. They would stay up late at nights before going to bed, as soon as they get home from school, at the dinner table while they are having dinner with their family, the list goes on….they would get on Pinterest right away. Im guilty as charge. I have done this my self….until recently God delt with me about something and I had to make things right…I need to set a better an example for these young adults/teenagers. Schooling is more important than worrying about what we can look up/watch on the internet/Pinterest. if you think about it, how many kids in school wake up tired because they stay up late in the night because they are either surfing the internet, looking at things on Pinterest, playing games on their devices, and so on….
How many kids/teenagers have a hard time focusing on their school work/in school?…
How many children actually spend time with their family playing board/card games, visiting, going to the park, go for a walk; anything that doesn’t involve a device in their hand?
How long can a family actually spend time together before they walk away and get on their phone, ipad, computer, ect.?
Do families ever really stop to think about how well they really know each other?
How many married couples really do know each other?…know what each other is going through/feeling? Do married couples ever stop for a mintue to actually spend time alone ( with no kids-no one) and really have a heart to heart talk? Before a couple get together, they talk and share things with one another…get to know each other… Question is, when was the last time a couple has took the time to do that again? Again I may be old school ( even though Im not old) but my point is, even being born in ’91, people took time for one another a lot more than they do these days…sadly. I can be wrong….but really, Why can’t families do this simple thing. Their seems to be always excuses of why they can’t make the time. Well, if people have the time to put their nose in a screen for hours, then why not make time to spend that with your family. We live once…we aren’t promised tomorrow. People have lived with regrets just because they had wished they spent more time with their loved one but it was too late. Why wait??
I know I got off topic a little….but, what would happen if we did something about this?
what would happen if parents took the time to really see know much time their kids are spending on their device’s day and night…and what they are looking at?
How many married couples would trust each other, love each other more if they spent more time together and alone time together talking about things they haven’t talked about in a while. Yes men don’t show their feelings/emotions as much as women do nor do they open up about some things as women do…but it never hurts to try.
As they say….a family that prays together Stays together.
When was the last time a family prayed together other than at church?
With all this said, like you said big brother….We don’t need these devices in such excess. What are they saying to us? Do we think for ourselves?…it’s so true.
Great Comment! Thank you!
I grew up with tv but gave up cable in 2003. I miss the landscape of tv in the 70’s, simpler times, fewer channels and a crap load of older movies.
I have no such nostalgia. I remember very little television. In social circles, I suppose I don’t catch a lot of phrases that are in reference to movies and TV.
Like you have no idea where the phrase jumping the shark comes from
Me either
Sorry missed punctuation on that sentence..I meant Like, you have no idea… it came from the show Happy Days when a character jumped a shark on water skis (it’s meaning…it was an unreal moment and the point in time when the show lost any redeeming qualities)
You know, I have a hard time with the industry of anchoring to values. Finding any quality is tough.
I hear ya. Growing up did you also not listen to any music as well ?
As it stands today, we own a tv…we cast a tv show once or twice a day (no streaming), I rent tv on DVD… currently watching the Original ’60’s Star Trek.
There are troubles in tribbles.
Yup..there is a long drawn out fight scene in that episode that makes it a rather boring watch, not one of my favorites because of that scene.