What I was Told, as I was Growing Up

What I was told, it, is now embarrassing for me to relate, was simple - you had to be like everyone else.

Which seemed reasonable, at the time. Why wouldn't adults know what was best, for everyone? It never occurred to me, they never had a clue.

Now, after half a century of bumbling along, I wish I had done things differently. I wish I had put myself first - not everyone else.

But, let's face it - this was impossible.

Like any teen-age boy, I wanted to be like my father. I could not see any further than his limited circle. I certainly could not imagine that his way of life would soon vanish.

Which it would. America after WWII would be gone thirty years later. And Americans would do their best to ignore this.

What would they become? I wish I could give you a straight-forward answer. But whatever they became, they would not remain simple humans - but humans augmented by amazing new technologies. Foremost of which was Television. And then the Computer.

It's hard to imagine this state of affairs. People as animals, basically - and people as advanced technologies. It's as if these technologies existed somewhere else - until they discovered people, and took control of them.

This is seen most clearly in the case of Television. The medium demands the devotion of its viewers. They must spend many hours viewing it every day - and letting it dictate the fashions of their lives.