Help a parent: Watch your language
If I were to make a list of all of the things in life that irritate me, one item on that very long list would be people who curse loudly in public places.
You can picture the scene – you’re out with your family (some of whom are still at a very tender age) and some yo-yo starts using language that would make a stable hand blush. Your blood pressure starts to rise and you think to yourself, “Geez, does this guy (or girl) think they’re the only one in the room? Does it not concern him (or her) at all that some people don’t want their children to be exposed to that kind of talk?”
The answer is, of course, that they are probably aware that there are families with children in the vicinity, they just don’t care. They are wrapped up in their own little world and couldn’t care less about the parents around them who are trying to let their children enjoy a childhood free of the ugliness that we all must face in the adult world.
There was a time when raising children was seen as a something of a shared responsibility. Most adults understood and honored their implied responsibility to keep adult things away from the eyes and ears of impressionable children. That sense of responsibility seems to have disappeared.
The cursing in public thing is a small manifestation of a much bigger problem. Children are continuously assaulted with sounds and images that were once intended for, and restricted to, adult audiences.
All you have to do is turn on a radio or a television and it smacks you in the face. Sex and violence 24 hours a day. Remember when there used to be a “family hour” on television early in the evening? Now there is no time of day when it is safe to leave your kid unsupervised if there’s a working TV in the house.
And how about those video games that let a player realistically simulate murder, rape and torture to their heart’s content? Only recently have some hesitant steps been taken to restrict the sale of such games to minors, and the video game industry hasn’t exactly gotten out in front of the effort.
And then there is the Internet, which may be the most disturbing technological development that parents have ever faced. Graphic sexual imagery, gory violence and sexual predators waiting to IM your unsuspecting kiddies – it’s all there. I wouldn’t be surprised if Satan himself has a homepage out there somewhere.
So what’s my point here? Am I advocating a government crackdown on the entertainment industry? Has this libertarian suddenly morphed into Mr. Censorship?
No, certainly not. I believe that adults should be free to read, listen to and watch just about anything they want to (excluding the obvious no-no’s, like child pornography). But I also believe that parents should have all the tools they need to choose what their little ones see while they are still under 18.
Right now parents are fighting this battle all on their own, and that needs to change. Next week I’m going to make some suggestions on how government and private industry can do a better job in working with parents, not against them, to protect children from being exposed to things they aren’t yet mature enough to handle.
Until then, watch your language, take your hat off when you’re indoors, and tuck that shirt tail in. Santa Claus is watching.