12-5-07 From Kevin

Ok...ready for the big news!? Finally the unequivocal list of what TV shows and movies are appropriate for our children to watch. This will help all the studies, reports, commentaries and research. It's taken over 12 years of personal research for us to compile this exhaustive and comprehensive guide. Here we go...

Reality Parents 'Approved' TV & Movie Guide
1. Nothing

Whoa...don't roll your eyes yet! We have one television set in our home that gets a decent amount of use! But hear me out.

This is another one of these areas we spend time worrying and debating about as parents, and it's really retarded. I remember a few years ago some blockbuster animated movie came out and we were having this debate about the pros and cons and whether the kids should see it. Then Teri does and about-face and says "Wait! It's a stupid make believe movie! If there is an ounce of question, who the he!! cares! What's wrong with us!" And she was right.

The other day Autumn asked me about addictions. Now I'll open up a can of worms that can be another blog entry, but I don't believe much in addictions. My experience is that we label a bad habit that someone won't stop...an 'addiction.' This somehow excuses their responsibility a bit and makes their life and our interaction with them more palatable for us all to cope with. I'm great with that. In these blogs I often get on my soap-box and come off as an arrogant S.O.B. But don't be upset...it's an 'addiction' I can't overcome, so don't blame me. It's genetic anyway, they are currently developing a drug for it (It's called Smackhiminthemouthazine, awaiting FDA approval). I'll start going to S.O.B. Anonymous tomorrow...

- If that statement is hard to swallow, comment at the bottom and we'll talk about it

But I went ahead to explain that folks often label someone as 'addicted' when that person seems unable to stop a consistent habit, even to their detriment.

If there ever was a true addiction, in all seriousness, it's TV. I don't care what 'educational show' you have on, it's not better for your kid to sit VIEWING instead of DOING. It's just not! To argue otherwise is comparable to sitting in the middle of a ripe orange orchard and try to figure out what nutritional supplement would be best for providing you with vitamin C. How about eating an orange?!

Now, do I think there is a place for some mindless entertainment amidst our hectic lives? Some winding down? Sure. And guess what. I adore a good movie. One that makes you feel. We watched 'The Patriot' the other night with our 3 older kids. Now talk about a movie you could question! A lot of violence. I won't even bother to defend that we watched it. I can't justify the gore, though I appreciate that it was at least historically accurate. But my gosh, what a movie. It made us all 'feel' in a big way. I got more than just misty during a couple sections ("Papa, Papa...don't leave...I'll say anything!").

And Teri will not like that I divulged this, but I rented 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.' Someone could try to argue it had some redeeming qualities, but it won't be more. It probably supports the 'gay agenda.' But I laughed. A lot. I still keep laughing thinking about some of the lines. There is value in laughing, even if I can't justify that flick..

But what amount of mindless entertainment is ok? I just had a prospective consulting client who wants to launch a web business and say he's hurting for time to pursue it, but he guesses he could try to stop TV for a while and figures that would give him 10 extra hours per week. Holy smacks! 10 hours? Put that much time toward ANYTHING every week and you are sure to succeed! Personally, I can't imagine being a spectator in front of the tube for more than 4 hours per week, and I can't even justify that. I just admit I enjoy good movies and average two per week, and these days most last 2-hours.

Many years ago, people were busy. They were busting their butts up at 4am to milk cows, worked all day raising crops and washing clothes on rocks in the river, anxiety about whether they'd actually have food to eat or get killed by wild animals or people, then built fires at night to warm themselves and create light in their little houses at night. What did they do with no TV? Rent an old DVD of 'Little House On The Prairie' or 'The Waltons' to see. While you may not be enthralled at the quality of the shows compared to today's wholesome sitcoms (feel the sarcasm), you'll see what they did. They...get this...interacted with each other. They:
- played music
- played games
- read books
- told stories
- made toys, clothes, knick-knacks
- went for an evening walk
- went to bed at a reasonable hour!

Now why do all those things pale in comparison to watching TV? Why does that sound so backward, naive and counter-cultural? It's really...shameful...that we are addicted to TV and media. Instead of doing anything, we just watch other people do things? Instead of:
- Having an adventure folks might write about, we watch adventures on TV
- Creating something that may revolutionize the world, or at the least, make a buck for ourselves, we watch folks create things on TV
- Building and nurturing meaningful relationships, we watch others do so on TV
...and on and on...

What's even more ludicrous is that most of the adventures, creations and relationships we watch...hold on...are pretend!! That's right! They are called actors and actresses. I'm a Mel Gibson fan, fully. But I have to remind myself that he in fact is not the Patriot guy. Or William Wallace in 'Braveheart' or any of the other amazing characters he's portrayed. He's a 20th century guy like all the rest of us, with a posh house and fancy cars to shelter him from any hardship. He's struggled with having affairs and alcoholism in his Hollywood life. I know men up here in my small town who have done greater things in real life than he has, I should be their fans!

So there is the thing that reigns me in from rotting my head in front of the TV, even though I'm just as prone to seeking entertainment as the next person.

Am I going to do anything with my life that is worthy of being written about? Or just waste myself away on my couch watching other people PRETEND to do things that a few real life folks actually did?!

Think about that! One out of ten million people on the earth actually DO something extraordinary or important. The other 9 million 9 hundred thousand and 9 hundred 99 of us sit in our temperature controlled homes munching on Dupont snack foods to view a reenactment of that one person. I'm ashamed of myself if no one else is.

And want to feel even more shame? Instead of teaching my kid something and helping them create a life that has true value to themselves and the world, I'll just plop them down to continue the brainwashing and add another spectator to the world.

So how about you? What do you think about TV for our kids? In our lives? What do you think is ok? Tell me the truth, we'll post it here and let others comment. I really want to know what you think. The comment link is up at the top of this entry.