If we turned off our TVs, we may not know about the injustices being carried out in Iraq.
Nor would we see examples of how to carry out a proper, peaceful revolution - without TV the Orange and Rose revolutions would have received little interantional coverage.
TV isn't the problem. It competes with a million other distractions North Americans can partake in, which include the Internet, text messaging, golfing and Yoga to name a few.
In fact there isn't a problem, and there isn't a need for a revolution. I don't know if "radicals" have noticed this, but a hell of a lot of people from all of the world want to come here to buy a house, drive a big car and play an X-Box 360.
If the revolution these TV haters propose is turning off the big switch, nobody is not interested.
Sure we need to exercise some restraint. And it would be a good idea to help out Africa. But TV can play a role in this, and it's beginning to as media stars like Bono get in our face to tell us to smarten up.
In fact, the continual barrage of TV media stories about global warming, AIDS in Africa and injustices in Iraq is forging a collective guilt that is encouraging action and change. So one could argue TV is leading revoluton and change.