#8 DVD Diversion

So I’m driving down the street the other day. And a weird blue light is shining through the back window of this mini-van ahead of me. It flashes erratically, and it’s got some color variation, and it seems to be positioned in about the same place as the driver’s rear-view mirror. As it flares and ebbs I think, dude, I better stay back a bit, this guy’s firing up a bong whiles he’s driving. Well, we pull to a stoplight and the little square of light resolves itself into a flopping orange fish. Nemo. Wo, I think in relief, it’s one of those new-fangled DVD players. I see the silhouettes of a couple of kids in the back seat.
Just then, a commercial comes on my radio from a car company. A lady is talking about how her kids are always asking questions and how the questions lead to other questions like why is the sky blue and why does Saturn have rings and what is a black hole and such like. Then the lady says she discovered that when her kids are watching movies they don’t ask questions, and then she says she bought her current car because it has a DVD player and her kids can watch movies. “No more questions,” she says with a self-satisfied tone. The car company announcer then suggests this as yet another reason to buy its product.
And that my friends, is, in a nutshell, what is wrong with our great country today. Parents are looking for ways to NOT talk to their kids. Curiosity is the most normal thing in the world in a child. And an open channel of communication is what every parent should establish as the ultimate default position in their relationship with their children. Cause when those kids get to be teenagers, believe me, it won’t be Nemo that’s diverting their attention. And psychedelic fish will be the least of your worries. Ask Kip Kinkle’s folks. I don’t want to get preachy here but for gosh sakes cherish those moments of wonder and curiosity. And capitalize on them to deepen your bonds with your kid, even when it does get a little exasperating. DVD shouldn’t mean Di-Vert Dumbheads. Cause dumbheads they will certainly be, if you ignore them now.
America, ya gotta love it.