Tuesday Afternoon..

Actually, it's Tuesday morning, but the Moody Blues always comes to mind on Tuesday. Ask me why in person some day and I may tell you. But not putting that story out in the tubes of the internets, no sir-ree bob.

Reckless youth.

So I've been causing great distress to my GI tract, my blood pressure and my peace of mind by watching/reading the news lately. I've got to stop. Really. I used to be some what of a news junkie. But now, it just feels dirty to watch the news. There is no real reporting of facts, just manipulation of words to make something seem to be something depending on which side of the right/left divide the news agency stands.

And now they are calling me at home with that manipulation.

I answered the "unknown caller" the other day because I thought the phone number displayed on my caller ID might belong to someone I would want to answer. But no. It was some robot lady telling me that "most parents and grandparents" in America thought that the rating systems for movies was becoming too lenient and more questionable material was being allowed. Did I agree with that?

Well, I guess so.

Now, here is where is gets fun. Robot lady went on to tell me that since we all knew that "Hollywood values" were not compatible with "American family values" that we had to take a stand to censor (okay, she didn't use that word, but that is what she meant, I mean, was programmed to imply) what "they" were "allowed" to put in movies.

Um. Okay. Here is my American family value: if I had any questions or doubts about any movie or CD or video game that my child wanted to see/hear/play, I saw/listened/researched it myself. And if I didn't feel it was appropriate for MY child, I told him (insert gasps here) NO.
If he threw a fit or was mad at me, I (insert gasps here) held my ground.

Parenting is a benign dictatorship, people, not a democracy.

I did not expect a group of strangers to put a label on something for me. How do they know what is appropriate for my child? They don't.

And this whole backlash against the entertainment industry is just another example of parental laziness, of parental spinelessness. Parents don't want to be the meanie, they don't want to be the bad guy. Oh, honey angel, it isn't Mommy's fault you can't see that movie, some stranger said it was PG-13.

Why do you need back-up for your parental decisions?

Grow a spine and take responsibility for parenting your child.

I told robot lady this, but she wasn't interested in what I had to say. Her programming politely paused until I finished talking, then continued on with her prepared script. Quite uninterested in what my opinion was, convinced that I agreed with her because it was "for the children".

And that is how I feel this morning. Isolated. Adrift. Tired of listening to the drone of robots.


Loki sez: C'mere so I can smack ya!
Photo by JAZ