Blowing off Steam. . .

"A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within" - Will Durant

"Learn to swim." - Tool



(Disclaimer: Please pardon my departure from my usually cheery demeanor, blame it on the rain. . .)




We watched Apocalypto last night. Then we watched the news this morning.

You Tube has pulled several videos that show people throwing drinks in the faces of drive-through workers. It looks like mostly teenaged boys who devised this venture into reality cinematography. I assume the trend takes it's cue from the "Jackass" television series, which shows the inane exploits of dudes who are into self-humiliation-for-profit.

"What's this world coming to?"

I get phone calls from my child's school advising me of lockdowns several times each school year. I'm afraid for my kids to ride their bikes around the neighborhood or spend the night with a friend or walk out the front door. I despise the influence of the television and the computer and friends - and yet here they all are, letting the toxic world leak in to my flimsy cocoon.

And while I am encouraging my kids to be kind, respectful, tolerant, mindful of their reputations, and wary of bad influences they complain that I am overprotective, antiquated and distrustful.

Then popular culture tells them that throwing a frosty at some poor person working minimum wage is funny. "You've been punk'd!" How appropriate.

I'm not ashamed to admit it - I'm tired of punks. I'm tired of stupid materialistic snots cramming their warped message down the throats of my teens and telling them not to swallow because they'll get fat. I'm tired of fighting against the crabs at the bottom of the bucket, trying to pull us back down lest we escape.

Being a parent is like trying to dog-paddle with one arm upstream against a raging current. Got teens? Learn to swim!

Well, I feel better now. Have fun!