Ambrose's Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 13

For my blog post today about Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 1973-1990, I'll highlight something that Stephen Ambrose says on page 378, about television.

"A major difference between Nixon's generation and the baby boomers was television...The baby boomers spent more time watching television than they did in school, or in family activities, or in church, or at play, or studying, or doing anything else...Much can be said about the effects of television, obviously, but it cannot be said that it produced an enlightened and educated citizenry.  It did produce greed, and disenchantment with politics, and cynicism, while reinforcing the sense of self at the expense of community."

I wonder how that can be, when the 1960's had excellent shows such as Bonanza and the Andy Griffith Show, which teach good values.