But We Try Not to Act Like It

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But We Try Not to Act Like It is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It was first printed in Destinies magazine in August 1979. It was later reprinted in his anthology Maps in a Mirror. Though it contains some light science fiction elements, it is not generally considered a science fiction piece.

Card's story is in some ways reminiscent of the setting described in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four: a single man lives alone in an apartment with a television which he can't turn off.

[edit] Plot summary

The story begins when the protagonist goes to the television office to complain about not being able to turn off his TV, as it disturbs him in his attempts to read, his preferred activity. He is told he'll only be allowed to turn the TV off if he makes some friends or develops a sexual relationship. The story follows his attempts to change his social status and his reactions to the daily soap operas to which he is unwillingly subjected.

The story's title refers to the program office's slogan: "We may be the only television company in town, but we try not to act like it."