When freedom is no longer about being free

I read a few articles the other day that really made me stop to think.

The first, by the New York Times, showed a fascinating, if somewhat miserable example of modern-day suburban parenting.

Not Quite a Reporter, but Raking Muck and Reaping Wrath

A local blogger, Daniel Cavanagh, wrote and posted pictures on his blog about a group of kids that decided Halloween night was made for throwing items at passersby: including "rocks, potatoes and other things". Now, unfortunately (as my Grandma would tell me with a sigh reminiscent of my own childhood): These things do happen.


But what truly angered me was not the fact that the children were throwing rocks. It was the parents' behavior that had me appalled. Instead of getting upset with their children for the rude and dangerous behavior, they turned their wrath upon the blogger.


Is this what we want the future of America to believe? What do we teach our children when we blame others instead of accepting the burden of responsibility ourselves? 


Social loafing is a term used by sociologists and psychologists to define a habit that is rapidly spiraling out of control. "Someone else will take care of it," we think. Or that "it's somebody else's job." If we continue this habit, our children will continue these habits, and our society will continue loafing.


The second article was yet another example of deplorable upbringing, or perhaps simply the lack of emphasis upon the idea of reading as a form of pleasure.


Despite Distinctions, Los Angeles Times Loses Standing at Home


The newspaper is for news, folks of Los Angeles. Not society pages (we will leave that sort of journalism to the glossies at the grocery stores), not for the vast wealth of information overload (we will leave that to Bing.com to sort out), and not to comment on who's knocking elbows in the City of Angles (didn't they win a Pulitzer for that story?). 


Learn to appreciate the world-class journalism, and not criticize the "class" of the paper it's printed on.


And then, sit back on the porch with a cup of coffee, and indulge in the pleasure that is the Los Angeles Times.