makeshiftmind

Stories like this make me want to become an anarchist.  Apparently Democrat Senator Mark Pryor is sponsoring a bill that is supposed to help parents regulate the television that their children watch.  Says he:

“It’s time for the FCC to take a fresh look at how the market can empower parents with more tools to choose appropriate programming for their children.”

Yeah, did you catch that?  Ok, let me rephrase:

It’s time for government to tell the market what to do because parents are idiots and don’t raise their children correctly.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit: I watch too many shows, and play too many computer games, and you know what?  I didn’t have a television growing up.  I have never owned a single gaming console (not even an Atari!).  I did snag my father’s Commodore 64 and, on slow days when I could endure the 5-10 minute load time, would play “Jump Man” or “Hey Taxi!”.  When my folks purchased an 8088 for “educational” purposes, I played “Bowling” in amber monochrome glory.  When we bumped up to Windows 3.11, I purchased my first real video game, a “Star Trek” adventure that I never did finish.

My point is this: my parents definately knew how to say “no” when I would have wasted countless hours in front of a TV or game console.  Instead they made me read and do other constructive things.  They didn’t need the FCC to hold their hand.  If anything, I think they may have been too conservative in their approach, but they knew the dangers of making the TV a babysitter.  They didn’t need gobs of taxpayer money to figure this out.

If the government really wants to help parents, it needs to quit taxing the life out of them.  If both parents could afford to spend more time with their children, perhaps the TV wouldn’t be the default childcare method of choice.  As it is, to pay for school, daycare, feeding and clothing their children, college funds, extra-school activities, etc., many households have two adults that work more than 40 hours a week.

But then again, this could be part of the conspiracy.  The government taxes excessively so parents will be forced to set their kids in front of the television every evening, because they are too busy meeting those deadlines after dinner.  Then the government swoops in and says,

“Hey, be afraid!  Your kids are being exposed to sex, violence, and drugs!  Thankfully, we provide FCC approved public programming that has none of those things, and is completely safe for your children.  We will teach them about morality (how nothing is *really* right or wrong), multiculturalism (how all cultures are equal, and we have no right to judge anybody), patriotism (how everyone should be compelled to serve in our military campaigns to be a good citizen), and collectivism (how people with “needs” have a legitimate claim to your money and property)!”

I hate the aristocracy up there in Washington.