It All Started With That First Television Set...

[joe strummer]

The most content person in Thailand is the rural Rice Farmer. He is the head of a family that is hard working, independent, and almost self-sufficient. He grows his own rice, tends his chickens, picks fruit off of his trees, and barters his labour. His need for money is not great. He does have to buy fertiliser, seed, and a small amount of fuel. He does not have nor require electricity at his house and many times does not have running water indoors. But he is happy with his life until someone tells him that he needs a television set.

The farmers life will never be the same after he buys a television set. First he will have to get electricity to his house and the monthly bill that accompanies it. Then he will have to borrow the money to buy the television which he will have to pay back at an unusually high interest rate. And if the farmer thought before he had a hard time keeping his children from leaving the farm and going to the city for an "easier" life and higher paying jobs, he now has to compete with the television sending this message.

After the television is bought he then buys a new farm machine he saw advertised with those easy credit terms. For his wife he will buy a rice cooker he saw advertised on another channel with no payments for 90 days. His son will soon want some designer footwear and his daughter will want that cellular phone she saw on television.

Now that the farmer is finacially ruined, he sells the farmland that has been with his family for at least three generations and moves to Bangkok. One day while looking out his small shanty, he will recall the days when he owned a farm, the air was clean, and he will say "it all started with that first television set".

A salutry tale indeed...

[Ken]

Well if i could wave a magic wand and make it happen i would make the Thai economy and the peoples wages etc in-line with the western world.

Sorry the cheap Charlies out there your easy livin life style would have just come crashing down.

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Strummer:

Well, the story does make one "think about it". Not sure that I would really want to go back to the "stone ages", but at times I think of what the "good ole days" were like. I don't know why the story reminded me of "Noodles" post (above), on another thread concerning "what would you change about Thailand...if you could". The more we get the more we want I suppose and it looks like we have to give up certain things to get it.

I don't know, I think I would miss my computer, etc., etc., etc.

[udon]

A good post Joe, makes you think doesn't it!

[Insight]

I remember watching a study on BBC World about the impact of Television on society. There was one place near Tibet (although I could be miles out) that has only had a TV service in the past 15 years or so.

Since then, the impact on social life has been pretty amazing - One example is how prostitution was unheard of until TV came along, but is now used to fund girls' cravings for designer wares dangled in front of them on a daily basis.

I'll try and dig out a link to the report.

[medicinebox]

It's just the downside of technological advancement. Look at the contraceptive pill. Loads more casual sex, more diseases, unwanted pregnancies (yes think about it), easy women with little virtue.

I'm not complaining though.

[marquess]

You should read Sir Wilfred Thesiger's (the great 20th century explorer and traveller) views on the effect of western culture and "advancement", on various non western cultures. He had the opportunity of seeing things in the 20's, 30's and 40's before some many things were lost.

[WISteve]

"One example is how prostitution was unheard of until TV came along,"

What a complete load of BULLOCKS!

I suppose you belive everything you see on BBC as well? Did it ever occur to you the author of the "documentary" might have an agenda?

It's not called the oldest profession for nothing. If there was no demand for the services (and hence some men who knew what they wanted then & in the past) why would the ladies entering the profession have a market? Duh!

This is just old Joe the NGO starting another worthless string IMO.

~WISteve

[RamdomChances]

It was just a cut and paste for here anyway, no original thought.

http://www.khonkaen.com/english/rice_farmer.asp

[Ken]

It was just a cut and paste for here anyway, no original thought.

http://www.khonkaen.com/english/rice_farmer.asp

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It seems "ole Joe" doesn't have a lot of "original thought" from some of his other posts also. Oh well.