Today when I think television I think violence, the war, death tolls, presidential debates, and the weather. I would like to turn on the news occasionally and hear the top story be something other than a murder. Just once I would like to hear some kind of small child reunited with puppy story or something equally heartwarming rather than the usual devastating and depressing headline “Another soldier was killed today in Iraq, fighting in the war on terror.” Don't get me wrong, I definitely love keeping up with current events around the world and enjoy hearing where all of the candidates stand on certain issues but t.v. gets annoying.

I watch the news every morning generally only for the weather because the other stories are just not how I want to start my day. The weather makes me smile even if it's going to rain because the soggy forecast doesn't mean it's going to be a bad day it just means grab an umbrella and the sun will be back tomorrow.

Current events now even spill over into weekly t.v. shows. What happened to “I Love Lucy” or “The Brady Bunch” where the plot consisted of a minor problem such as: Lucy not having dinner ready on time but never anything as extreme as a murder or the search for a runaway child. Old shows had morals and values which today's t.v. shows rarely do. When I watch a sitcom there is little laughter mostly disgust at the language or sexual content of the show. In a sitcom I expect cheesy comedy not violence and suspense. Which is probably why Nick at Nite is my favorite channel. I get to watch all the shows that make me laugh rather than cringe.

Violence, the war, death tolls, presidential debates, and the weather these are the thoughts running through my mind when I turn on the news or search for a show to watch. I can't help but wonder what catastrophic event will be broadcast today to provoke fear and anguish in society. If television focused more on the good things going on around the world and less on the violent and destructive happenings then we might live in a more peaceful society with less murders, burglaries, or kidnappings and more respect and consideration for other people.