I watched ABC News tonight, a very rare activity for me. It’s just a personal thing; I’ve had enough of Pompous PJ to last me a lifetime. But I wanted to catch up on the rain-induced mudslides in Southern California, my home turf, so I tuned in.
There was a story on the Islamic American arrested for allegedly plotting an assassination attempt against President Bush. Of course, the word “torture” was bandied about. It seems his U.S. captors “tortured” him. Whether or not the charge has any veracity, it appears “torture” always applies to physical wrongdoing when the U.S.A. stands accused.
“Torture” never seems to apply when Al Qaeda is a perpetrator. Not even when they are sawing the heads off screaming hostages on videotape.
“Torture” has been exclusively reserved by MSM for supposedly mistreated enemies of America. How do you categorize a naked prisoner in a U.S. military prison with panties on his head? Why, that’s a clear case of “torture,” and occasionally its twin description, “atrocity.”
How do you describe a bound hostage with terrorists using an oversized machete to saw off his head? Oh, that’s a terrible thing, indeed, but never quite “torture.” They’re a tough crowd, those Old Media journalists.
But like the LA Times, I digress. Back to PJ and his evening info-tainment. In his usual ponderous fashion, Jennings moved through stories about the dangers lurking within fine print in contracts and the threat of bird flu. Finally, he came to a story on videogames designed to get children moving. The report claimed that video manufacturers are contributing to the ongoing efforts to reduce childhood obesity. Of course, there’s a healthy dollar side to this corporate altruism.
For $50-$100, parents can now buy videogames that will make children stand up and dance, play laser swords, or jump around chasing flying vegetables or some such objects. These seem like extraordinary measures to get children moving.
Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems the solution would be a lot easier, more sensible--and cheaper--if parents would just turn off the television set, hide the controller, and send the kids out to the yard to play. It worked for my kids, and it cost me nothing.
In these days of constant video play, whatever has happened to the traditional outdoor games of tag, hide-and-seek, kick the can, mother may I, red light, green light, hopscotch, jump-rope, stickball, swinging statues? How about riding bikes, skating, building forts and go-carts? What about football, softball, basketball, all the other balls?
I’m glad I was a kid before the electronic age shackled childhood to the TV set. Videogames were standard during the later years of my kids’ childhoods, and they played their share. But the charms of the great outdoors and the fun of their sporting activities prevented them from becoming mired in the video wasteland.
I realize it’s a busy world for most families today, and it’s also more dangerous. I’m not advocating letting kids run wild in the streets. But backyards and schoolyards remain safe havens for most children’s active games. If parents are actually paying $100 for a videogame intended to get their kids off the couch, I can't help but think that we’re moving in a lazy and ludicrous direction.
