Ever wish your kids had some of the things you did while they’re growing up? Every wish you had some of the things they have now?
I’d say I wish more for the first question. I wish my children had more of the freedom I had. And by freedom, I mean less shackles of an internet…of technology. I know I’ve ranted about this before, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been run off the road from a driver who is looking at their phone…more younger drivers than older ones. I already have a son who drives, and four more to go. I would be heartbroken if one were in an accident because either they or another driver couldn’t possibly wait to check something on Facebook. Let’s face it, the internet robs children of outside air. How many kids are inside versus how many are surfing the web, or playing online games?
I also wish that all the little bully sites would go away. I never thought I’d see the day that girls and boys would go online to target and hurt other people. As if to their face wasn’t bad enough. What is this about? (It’s bully week at the elementary school, so I digress). What happened to all the Coke commercials of people holding hands around the world, singing about being one? Is it that we don’t foster enough attitudes about acceptance? We don’t have to agree, but we should accept. So what if the beautiful Asian girl wears camouflage to school? Did that give the prissy girls a right to Facebook what a poser she was? To say her ethnicity shouldn’t wear a certain color of clothing? And ultimately drive the poor girl to kill herself? I hope these girls are appropriately charged with murder, because their unkind, needling words drove her to the brink, I feel. No, they didn’t pull the trigger, but they gave her the gun and showed her how to use it.
Can’t we just all get along? What hurts people, anyway? That’s right…sticks and stones. Maybe we should keep that in mind. And keep more of our words in our heads and not on our tongues.
