Why All of the Noise?

I was having breakfast at the Ontario, CA airport Applebee’s at 6:00 AM. I was one of a handful of people in the place where I would have expected a quiet and peaceful meal while reading a book. But no. I was seated about six feet from a TV blaring ESPN and sitting directly under a speaker that was playing “Funky Town” equally loud. Why is it that these places think that we need all of this noise. It seems like we are being forced into an existence of mindless drivel and someone does not want us to have our own thoughts anymore. This explains a lot of what is going on today, for example the last presidential election.