in Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, he warns us of whats to come if we let our attention become consumed by meaningless distractions. plotless 5 minute TV programs are all that can hold the attention of this non-contributing society. The government is giving the people exactly what they want, an escape from reality to keep them happy, but what happens when that goes too far?

Mildred, the protagonist, Montag's, nugatory shell of a wife is the perfect example. she's always absorbed in her TV walls, that she thinks the lively figures on the screen are her actual family. she seems unable to feel the slightest bit of passion, as she'd much rather be either passed out in bed with earbuds silencing the outside world or consuming a plethora of the sleeping pills she somehow obtains.
sounds like a great way to live, does it not?

"I just want to be happy", seems to be the goal of most american citizens and the government does what it can to create a healthy environment, but taking everything out of life is not the answer. Mildred and most of this society have mistaken happiness for the lack of knowledge, and by doing this she is unable to really live. How can you experience happiness without the experience of pain? There is one scene where Montag, enraged by Mildred and her friends ignorance, that he pulls out a book of poems in hopes of shedding the light of what they are missing. Instead of awing at the thoughts of others, they break down in tears and feel that Montag is some sort of satanist condemning them to hell, but they couldn't even put it into words since their vocabulary is so filtered.

"Millie? does the White Clown love you? does- ... does your 'family' love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul?"
"now, why would you ask a silly question like that?"
page 77, Montag begins asking Mildred the questions that count. the ones that should really make you think, but she's so hallow that they don't even faze her; and her moment of confusion passes. she's content with how her life is, simply because its all she's ever experienced. she's nothing more than a zombie, just going through the motions.
"He felt he wanted to cry, but nothing would happen to his eyes or mouth".

Our lives on this planet may be the longest thing any of us will ever experience, but they're so short and insignificant that its completely useless to waste your time by letting your inner being, your soul, the one thing that differentiated Hitler from Gandhi, Saddam Hussain from Socrates, become engulfed by even more insignificance. Our society is reading less and less, our society is losing culture, our society is fading away and losing what made it as great as it was once deemed. we're sacrificing our freedom for cheap kicks and false inner peace and Ray Bradbury saw this back in the 1953 and its just becoming more and more apparent. The book was even banned at one point, not too long after its release, which further show how closely related our society is to theirs. i mean, how can you ban knowledge? I'm going to end this with another warning, written by some bodacious dudes in 1973, a few years before the media was taken over by Twerking and heartless jingles.

                                                   long you life; and high you fly
                                              smiles you'll give; and tears you'll cry
                                                   all you touch and all you see
                                                     is all your life; will ever be