“Consent of the Governedâ€: Now a Commodity Commodity—an article of commerce “According to an authoritative global study, Americans now watch television an average of 4 hours and 35 minutes every dayâ€â€”An excerpt from Al Gore’s book “The Assault On Reason†contained in May 28 issue of TIME. We have traded our democratic inheritance for a few hours of vapid TV distraction. I am convinced that we have one avenue out of this terrible predicament into which we have fallen; we American adults must significantly improve our level of intellectual sophistication. This can easily be done in a most delightful way; we adults can take one hour a day that we now spend on a couch before a TV screen and utilize that time studying the books that will enlighten us as to who we are and why we do the things we do. Self-actualizing self-learning is a simple and powerful solution to a most dangerous and pressing situation. We have nothing to lose but our apathy and ignorance; and we have everything to gain, including our self-respect and the respect of generations to come.