>How can you understand American culture or politics without a TV?
It depends what you mean by the word "understand." If your mean "epiphenomenal familiarity" then I profess profound ignorance, indeed. In emergency situations I cope with it by asking my wife for help. But if you mean "linking material causes and effects" being insulated from the noise and babbling is actually an advantage - it helps me to concentrate. I think one can better understand the American culture by studying class structure, land use patterns, demography, geography or distribution of ownership than by being inundated by the products generated by the entertainment industry.
wojtek