where do i draw the line?

I had to ask myself that question last night while telling my husband about The Cell a "hot script" in Hollywood without a home. You might ask, "Why can't the show find a home?" That would be because it's a "wacky show about terrorists."
Link to NY Times article about The Cell.

I was explaining to my husband my thoughts on the idiocy of those who ever considered this to be an appropriate show to create. As I sat there it started to hit me that while I consider a show about people who want to terrorize/kill others for political/religious views inappropriate, I'm willing to pay $10/month just so I can watch a show about people who terrorize/kill others for financial gain. Why is it that I consider one acceptable viewing and the other not?

I consume a lot of media. Among other things, I watch countless movies each month, I sit mindlessly absorbing hours of trashy tv every day and each day I play on websites with a mindnumbing amount of stupid advertising. In the past few months I've begun pondering my media consumption through the eyes of a future parent. How can I insist I will monitor the amount and quality of the television my child watches, when I'm sitting there with my eyes glazed over watching whatever I can find on my seven billion satellite channels? Where do I draw the line on what is "quality" and how do I judge something as "appropriate" for a child when I clearly can't set a good standard for myself?

How I wish I had the willpower to just give it all up. Every child I've ever encountered who truly didn't watch any tv and rarely watched movies or played on the Internet is amazing. In my experience they are always highly intelligent, well adjusted, have a good sense of self worth, etc. Who doesn't want to provide that for their child? The question is can I make that sacrifice?

Probably not, if I gave it all up how would I watch the season premiere of Lost next week?