How I love PBS: Let Me Count the Ways

Today I decided to come home for lunch, because I actually had some food in my refrigerator. I turned on the TV for some background noise, and since I don't have cable, my options were rather limited. Unless I wanted to watch soap operas or children's shows, the natural choice was pbs.

I adore pbs. It has sponsors, of course, but it is the only kind of (free) television that isn't completely overwhelmed by capitalist corporate greed. Gone are the days when a television show would simply politely pause for a moment, "for this word from our sponsor." The sponsors are in the fabric of the program now, their logos are pasted all over the screen, their products are props. I didn't watch Superbowl XLIII Presented by Cadillac, but I did catch the last few minutes (waiting for the Office to come on afterward). I noticed that at one point an announcer said something like, "These post-game aerial shots are brought to you by Budweiser." I imagine Budweiser was an overall sponsor of the event, but somehow it warranted mentioning that something as specific as the post-game aerial shots were being shown to us thanks to Budweiser. I can't help noticing that sports games these days are, more often than not, played in places called "The Nabisco-Budweiser-Axe Stadium" or something similar. I'm surprised sports teams haven't started to be called "The Nike-ExxonMobil Pittsburgh Steelers" or the like. We're living in a bit of an Idiocracy.

Have you ever watched a commercial for pbs? They're intense, and frequently heart-wrenching. Robert Redford encourages you to support pbs because somewhere, there is a child with great ideas whose voice should be heard, and pbs is a place for that voice. Pbs seems unspoilt. It feels comforting, like your grandparents' house. You're going to watch your grandmother knit, your grandfather might show you how to build a cabinet, and then you're all going to bake a nice pie. The voice of Bob Ross washes over you like a warm breeze, comforting and reassuring you that you can put that happy, fluffy little cloud anywhere you like because your life is your painting. There's no need to worry so much. You can paint a new day tomorrow.

And then there are the documentaries. I love documentaries. Which brings us back to today at lunch. There was a documentary on called "The Truth According to Wikipedia." (That's youtube. It doesn't have a wikipedia page, which just feels wrong.) I didn't get to see very much of it, but what I saw was fascinating. Lunch time today is at the heart of why I love pbs: I watched less than a half hour of television, but what I saw there was a discussion of what truth is. What is knowledge? Who creates knowledge? Who should be the gatekeeper of truth, assuring accuracy and quality? Can truth be created democratically? Are there individual truths? Is the sum of these individual truths as meaningful as validated, reliable expert opinion? Stuff that you can really sink your mind's fingers into. Meaty, important, thoughtful questions.

It was so cool. I love pbs.