Conspiracies

I don't buy into conspiracies. They often require a suspension of disbelief that is of vast proportions. The more elaborate, the less believable. I hear you. You are saying that some things are so unbelievable they can't be made up. Yo, I read sci-fi and high fantasy. Writing about the unbelievable is really not hard with the right imagination.

The reason most conspiracies (conspiracy theories if you will) fail in my book is because they require organization, cooperation, money, time and luck of a sort that is far from realistic. Either the figures in the conspiracy are reported to know and work well together when in reality they have never shown even the slightest inclination of liking, let alone, work with each other; they require a level of intelligence and cooperation in a lot of people that is simply NOT probable; or, they require amounts of money and time that would be mind boggling to even some of the richest one percentors. That and motive never seems to figure in. Why do the alleged people behind the conspiracies hate so and so, or the American people, or animals, or countries, so much?

I know there are big, deep pocketed individuals out there who are definitely doing all they can to manipulate the system in their favor. Absolutely. But a comic book style evil genius? A Dr. Moriarty or Lex Luther for the modern age if you will? Uh, no.

Now there is one Conspiracy Theory out there I will comment on. After doing the research, it does indeed appear that the Pentagon was shot with a missile and not hit with a plane. I do agree with that. But I think the true reasons for the "official" story are more simple, sad and embarrassing rather then manipulative, evil or self serving. I believe the Pentagon has defenses of its own. Makes sense don't you think? Remember that a shoot first order had already been issued by the time that particular plane flew into the Washington DC area. I believe the government shot the plane down over the ocean and then (before, during or after) accidentally shot itself.

No government wants to telling grieving families they had to shoot their loved ones down in a plane for national security. I think the accidental shooting of the Pentagon simply gave them an out.

Cover ups are nothing new. We start learning to cover up when we are barely out of diapers. Conspiracies are simply extravagant cover ups of cover ups. It is better to look smarter and even a little evil than stupid and careless, no?

Taking the Fear and Morals out of Children's Stories

God forbid our children should grow up in the real world. We are so bent on protecting our children from the least little thing, they grow up to crave it. Shielding your child from death could make him a serial killer. Yes, that is just my opinion, but I do believe it to be true. Basically I'm saying your child will be obsessed with death. Death is one of those things kids need to learn about from their parents. Same for sex, drugs and rock & roll. If you over protect them, they could very well rebel in the worst possible way. But I'm getting a little off track to my main gripe: Changing Children's Stories, specifically in Children's programming on television.

There are several terrible shows out there - rabbits and alligators as best buds; monkeys getting by doing hundreds of thousands dollars in damage with no repercussions; etc. - but I want to concentrate on one in particular, Super Why.

This show, Super Why, is on Public Television. I still swear by Sesame Street (even though Cookie Monster giving up cookies is stupid), Sid the Science Kid, and Word World, don't get me wrong. There is still plenty of great programming to be seen. I just wish it were all great.

Super Why is one of my kid's favorite shows. He really does learn watching it. But I can't in all good conscious let him watch it because it butchers classic children's stories willy nilly. Sleeping Beauty's favorite hobby is to sleep, the witch in the gingerbread house just wants to share, the big bad wolf just wants to play, etc. and so on. They've sanitized the stories so much they almost aren't recognizable. The baddest thing anyone does on that show is be loud. And by taking out the 'bad' they've taken out the morals. Sure, they've inserted their own like sharing, playing well with others, ask before you take, etc., but any real consequences are gone.

Luckily we've bought unabridged printings of Grimm's and Hans Christian Anderson's tales. And we are working on getting Aesop's Fables and Mother Goose's stories as well. So when our kid watches Disney's Little Mermaid, he'll know how the story originally went. There is very seldom a happy ending in the real world and children's stories used to reflect that. Not anymore and I believe it is doing a serious disservice to your child to let them believe there is always a happy ending, that everyone is always nice, that no harm can ever come to them. It's wrong and irresponsible as a parent to do this.

I realize you don't want your child hurt. You don't want them to get a cold either, but, if they don't, their immune system will suffer for it. You can't and should not protect them from everything. If my child tortures the cat, I warn him the cat will scratch/bite if he continues. If the cat does fight back, I do not discipline the cat or throw him out. The child was warned. And he's taught never to go up to any stray animal. Dogs injure more people than any other animal. Not every dog is friendly and I teach my child that. I also teach him that not every person is friendly, either. Better to know now than find out the hard way later.

Not teaching your child the harsh realities of life doesn't ultimately protect them from anything. When reality does hit your child, it is just going to be so much worse for them instead.

Now I'm not saying you should take your child to funerals or deliberately put them in harm's way. Of course not. Life happens so when someone does get hurt or die, simply tell the child the truth as best you can. As an adult you know 'not knowing' is the hardest thing to come to terms with. It is the same for a child. They may not understand initially, but that doesn't mean you should never mention it or hide it from them.