Investigating TV

I do not get around to watching too much TV these days, but last night was an exception. I heard on some network investigative news show that "our children are buying drugs on the internet." I was immediately hooked!

The lead in before the commercial, to give you rabid anxiety and anticipation, was something like "imagine your children buying drugs, right now, on the internet."

I jotted the following phrases from the report:

"right now you can buy drugs online with your credit card"

"strangers are peddling drugs in your home, right now to your children"

"you don't even have to deal with thugs on the local street corner as you would with 'typical drugs'"

Just before I finished my transaction to take the sting out of my aching back, I gave pause. There are certainly people who abuse prescription pain killers. I certainly do not mean to make light of the situation, but I am always amazed at what is newsworthy in this country and what seems to escape mention time after time after time.

This particular piece implicitly concluded that there must be more regulation and less privacy on the internet so that strangers cannot sell drugs to your kids. That seems to coincide nicely with the recent effort of major media conglomerates to start charging for email. It also seemed to argue that NSA wiretapping is not only acceptable, but essential to our safety. I may be way off, but it seems to me that the point of this is to build a case that strengthens the position of those who wield the most power--at the expense of everyone else.

This single occurrence is anything but conclusive, but it does support the premise. Who am I kidding? Of course they are concerned most of all with our children.