I have cable TV because most of the channels I like are on cable not because "the govt." dictated anything. I already get digital signals via cable on all my TVs, so I'm not worried.
As technology changes, so do the ways we live and work. The automobile replaced the horse and buggy. The touch tone phone replaced the rotary phone. CDs replaced vinyl records. Computers and printers replaced typewriters. DVDs replaced VHS. Digital has replaced analog.