Parental Discretion Advised: Leave Your Kids Alone!

Ever since the unfortunate rise of the "morale majority" within or politics and the Republican Party, I've noticed the decline of the very "family values" that they have expressed. It's not only in their repressive nature that has caused such deviants, like Foley or that guy who shot those Amish girls at school, but I've noticed the phrase "for our children" being thrown around like it's suppose to mean something.

It is my opinion that this very thought is not only detrimental to our country and our way of life, but also to the children themselves. In other words, despite the inadequacies of this government and the harm the electorate has brought to this country, it is the parents that I blame for the majority of today's problems.

For example, in ABC's hit television show LOST (which began it's third season yesterday) one of the characters in the show is a father whose son was kidnapped. He lied, killed and betrayed his fellow castaways simply to get his son back. His excuse was that he felt justified because he had a son. If this is a poor example, then this same theme is in a classic movie, Road to Perdition, starring Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. It was a story about betrayal justified by the love of the father for his son.

I realize that this line of thinking will spark intense opposition, however, it must be stated and for very good reason.

When I was young, I was a day camp counselor for the YMCA and eventually I was promoted to serve as director for three years. Later in college, I was working to receive my teaching credentials and was fortunate to be a student teacher. In my experience, I've noticed that kids are kids. However, if you follow a stupid kid home and knock on their door...you'll find two stupid parents.

I'm a bassist and I was performing at an outdoor mall when some teenagers thought it would be funny to shoot rocks from a rubberband at us...I guess our music sucked. However, after many looks and warnings, one of the rocks found its way to our drummers' head. At this point, we stopped playing and I approached the kid who was doing this. I told him to stop and he got in my face. I told him to back down but he claimed that I couldn't hurt him because of his age. I then threw him to the ground and told him that if he didn't stop, I would permanently imprint his face into the concrete.

Needless to say, that was probably the wrong move because the police showed up with the kid's father. I went to the father and asked if he wanted to hear my side, instead he called me names and threatened to press charges. The cops separated us and told us that the father would press charges but the cops told him that we could press charges because they hit our drummer with a rock. The drummer said he would do it unless they dropped everything. Thankfully, everything was dropped.

However, the police had a warning for me: He said the father was a single parent and this was the weekend he was watching his son (although, watching his son meant letting him go to the mall with his buds) and he had to put on this big fatherly act (this is what the police did say). The officer than said that "today isn't like it used to be in our day. If my father heard I was shooting rocks at people, my ass would get kicked. And if an adult kicked my ass, he would also kick it afterwards. But if you ever touch a kid again, you are going to jail."

I agreed, apologize and thankfully walked away a little brighter. But what he had said was true. My father never allowed such behavior. But it seems today kid's are allowed to do anything. I can't go on a plane without a minimum of three babies and a gaggle of youngsters smelling the whole plane up and keeping well annoyed and awake. It's the same with the movie theater and restaurants.

When did bringing kids to everything become acceptable? And why aren't parents being parents.

I don't know if there is a national agenda to encourage couples to have kids or if people are too stupid to use contraception, but I have an idea that it's because we've legislated away the power of the parent. The divorce rate is at an all-time high and these divorce couples usually have children. The courts have given the children ultimate power by using them against each parents in addition to each parent using their children against each other.

As a day camp director, I had to have a little boy secured in a room alone with a counselor while his parents fought outside the door as to which one had the authority to take him. I interjected by saying "you sons of bitches have no idea what you are doing. Stop thinking of yourselves and start thinking about your boy in that room that can hear you. He's embarrassed. He's ashamed. And he's going to think your problems are because of his. GROW UP!!!" For this I was reprimanded. Thankfully it was only that because I was ready to murder them both.

Parents don't reprimand their kids whether out of guilt because they divorced their moms or dads, or because parents are afraid to be labeled an abuser. What these parents have done though, is circumvent their parental responsibilities through legislation that affects parents or non-parents alike. Is this fair? Why do I have to suffer and be restricted simply because these guys couldn't keep their privates in their pants?

But it's this thinking that leads to bigger things. Because it's the world is imperfect, fear is driven into the minds of these children. But it's the fear of the parents that is the problem. It's because of this fear that I believe re-elected Bush Jr. into office and that has sent our military to their death in Iraq. All simply so the attacks on 9/11 won't happen again. Yet, these parents don't realize that when you kill somebody, somebody's child is being killed. If they had only put their child in that place they would realize what they have done.

Children is an obsession in this country to the point of abuse. In fact, I will go out and say the biggest abusers of children are most of the parents today. What they have done is worse than sexual or verbal abuse...it's mental abuse. They are creating children who are sheltered from the realities of this world. In fact, I believe that the parents of today are a product of parents who have sheltered them. We are a nation of spineless jellyfish with education and constantly living in fear. And the corporate marketers and politicians know this and they keep hitting that fear button to stay in power.

These parents have spawned a generation of politicians that see themselves like parents. Simply hear the rhetoric of our president in how he wants to keep us safe. We've relinquished our security to these politicians because we are insecure ourselves. It's sickening and it must stop.

Therefore I ask the parents of today this: Your kids will be alright. Raise them to be contributing members of this society and stop bringing them to ballet lessons, play dates and sports events. We are losing touch with our history and values so you can keep your demon seeds happy with you and they won't go to mom's house and say that your a jackass. To moms: stop coddling your kids. They are not special just because they came out of your vagina. To the fathers: be a man and raise your children to be positive members of this society. To both parents: let the teachers do their job because you don't know shit. If you did, I wouldn't be writing this to you.

I know you want to do the right thing and "protect" your children but don't protect them to the point where they don't understand how life works; that they can't stand in front of a moving Mack truck or they might just die. Because mommy and daddy won't be there to save them and the government sure as hell won't. This society, this democracy, is not for the timid or faint of heart. It's for leaders. Now, make your children into leaders.

Like I said, I know I'm going to take heat for this because it's an unpopular stand. However, you'd be ignorant to believe that I'm talking about all parents. There are great parents in this world and you know who you are and the rest of you will think you are, so none of this really matters in the long run. So settle down and simply let what I have stated sink in.

It is unfortunate that after six years of abuse from our Republican leaders in the White House and Congress - the ineffective rhetoric of the Democrats - that we have failed to see the harm it is causing to our children and our children's children, etc. And it wasn't until some high school boy is preyed upon that we are shocked, "Oh my God. I can't believe this is happening."

Well, if you parents pulled your head out of your childrens' asses long enough to see past the soccer field, you'll notice that you are being played, and personally, I'm tired of cleaning up your messes and being your parent.