Original: The Devils Altar | Malevolent Freedom

Almost every home has one. Some have two or three. They are tucked under kitchen cabinets, perched on top of bedroom dressers, and in some homes they take up entire walls. You pass by them in store front windows and they beckon to you from the supermarket checkout lines and even transportation terminals. Chances are- you are sitting within eyesight of a television right now.
Marketed as an invention that would change the world at the 1939 Worlds Fair- the television didn't see large scale manufacturing until after the Second World War. With the launch of regularly scheduled commercial network programming in 1948, the TV has earned the nickname of The Devil's Altar by spreading messages of vice and consumerism ever since.
According to the American Family Association, the top four television networks aired, on average, 45.58 depictions of sex, violence, and profanity during peak prime time viewing EVERY HOUR. This breaks down to 8.5 incidences of violence an hour, 14.15 of sex, and 22.93 of profanity. A total of 91% of all sex depicted was "casual sex" outside the confounds of the characters story line. In one year those networks air 14,313 depictions of sex, 8,333 of violence, and 23,556 uses of profanity, and this is only during the few "prime time" hours every night and doesn't include off hour or late night programming.
On average the American adult watches a total of four hours of television a day (children watch more, and teens watch close to six). By the time a person reaches age 65- they would have spent an average of nine years of their life watching the television. Familiarity breeds acceptance and the effects of worshiping at the Devils Altar are painfully apparent in todays society.
Television urges the viewer, both subliminally and overtly, to abandon their sense of racial, sexual, and spiritual identity in favor of a consumerist mentality. Marketers and Program Directors work day and night in an effort to make sure that you not only keep watching, but keep buying too (whether you need the product or not). Hour after hour of morally carcinogenic programing is produced with the intent of keeping your finger off the remote control and your hand on your checkbook.
Television influences the viewer more than they are aware of. Most people fail to see the amount of marketing in programming and sit in front of the TV's warm glow in a highly complacent mindset that leaves them little choice but to absorb and process all the negative imagery that is being displayed to them. TV simply is not the entertainment medium that its portrayed as- its an instrument of control and a method to break down your personal convictions in favor of the behavior and life style shown to you on the screen.
There is one simple way to avoid the detrimental effects of Television. Its called the "off button". This is the only button on the entire TV that will truly enrich you as a person.
If you must watch, insist on programming that portrays a positive moral message. Reject multicultural "broken homes". Instead enjoy shows that depict a family unit with a strong sense of identity and community. Insist that not all depiction of women are of omni-sexual, scantily clad alcoholics out on the town looking for a "juiced up Guido" to have a one night stand with. Demand a realistic depiction of todays modern woman, and not images of her as a week and helpless victim unable to prosper without the intervention of some young Buck who shows her her path in life.
The television is more than a way to unwind and waste an hour or two. Unfortunately today it is the babysitter, the companion, and the inattentive lover. Most frighteningly its become the teacher, poisoning the minds of all who attend its lectures. Its a surrogate for life's experiences and should be watched as little as possible. After a few days without TV- maybe people will realize that whats important in life isn't the premiere of the next big Reality Show, but the institutions of Faith, Folk, and Family.