So, it hasn't happened yet, but I have been following the Senate's plans to delay the Feb. 17 switchover from analog to digital television. This is completely insignificant to me, as Comcast has assured me for the past year that they have it covered for me. Yet I find the whole possibility of delay ridiculous. The bill that mandated television stations and households to switch by February 2009 was passed in either late 2005 or early 2006. At the very least, there have been advertisements everywhere on television for the past year. How, then, can there be about 6.5 million homes in America that are not prepared to switch?I have several theories. First, there are some who don't watch television enough to have seen the commercials. Of course, if they don't watch television enough to have noticed, will they really miss the analog signal? Second, some people are too poor to avoid a box. Of course, there has been a tax-payer supported program which gives the poor a voucher for a box. Third, people don't get what the deal is. Those people are just idiots and fail to even watch the most basic commercial which explains how.
Whatever the reason, this delay is completely devoid of any considerations for responsibility. If the government wants people to switch, they should switch. If people aren't doing it now, how may of them will do it in the next 4-6 months? Make the change and those who now have no television will make the change pretty quick. If not, they don't care and we shouldn't either.
Again, this is a completely mundane and unimportant topic, but come on, these people are getting television for free, for crying out loud! Let's quit treating grown-ups like immature children!
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