THE BOOB TUBE CONTROVERSY

 

It’s difficult to decide whether or not to allow your child to have a television in their bedroom. There are a lot of good arguments as to why you shouldn’t. It can distract them from homework, cause them to not spend as much time with the family, or just enable them to have unrestricted access to things that you might not want them to have access to. With all this said, I still believe that I will allow my child to have a television in their bedroom, just the way my Mom did. 

My Mom allowed each of us to have our own televisions, but, we were not allowed to have cable access. We each had our own VCR and when they came out, a DVD player. My parents had expectations of us though. We have always had family suppers, we were expected to do our homework, be in social activities and sports. We each had chores and needed to get them done before we were able to watch television. The movies that we watched were “checked out” from our parent’s media collection or the library. But on special occasions, we were able to rent a movie.

I think that the problem that parents run into with having television in their child's bedroom is in not having structured ground rules and expectations in place. Many of the things on television are not appropriate for young children to see and often children do not have the self control to turn the television off to do things like homework and sleep. The problem is simple, give them the television, and let them earn the right to view appropriate media without giving them more control then they can handle.

ELECTION 2008

In 2008 there were three choices for President of the United States. Barack Obama-Democrat, McCain-Republican and Ryon Paul (who was a Republican). I myself, was not old enough to vote in 2008, but if I would have, I would have voted for our President Barack Obama.

Barack Obama is a Democrat, which in itself is not the only reason I would have voted for him, but it is one of them. Our country was in debt when George Bush, Senior was in office, but that was completely fixed by the time President Bill Clinton, Democrat had served two terms in office. We as a country had a balanced budget. Unfortunately, George Bush, Junior was elected (questionably) into office for two terms. Where were we after he was finished with us? We are in the worst debt our country has ever been in, our work has been shipped out to other countries and unemployment is higher than it has ever been in my lifetime.

Now, I don't want to sound like I am on a soap box, but are we being fair to judge Barack Obama for not being able to fix in two years, what Bush took eight to destroy? I hear a lot of older people judging him for not having made "enough" changes in the last two years. I am not sure what they believe should have been done differently, but from my perspective it seems like he and his office are doing their best.

CHARACTER

"Only the individual can think, and thereby create new values for society, nay, even set up new moral standards to which the life of the community conforms. ... The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth." (Albert Einstein, 1954)

If you asked most individuals what qualities they would choose in a political leader, I am sure that most people would not mention physical beauty. Most people would list qualities like ethics, intellect, morals, socials skills, speaking skills and other character attributes.

How many people would say,"I want to vote for who ever looks the best?" Unfortunately, the appearance of our politicians seems to matter in today's society. Our media makes it possible for almost everyone to view our candidates running for office. There are adds, commercials and debates on television and other forms of media. The people who look good, grab our visual attention in a positive way.

I believe each individual needs to take a deep look at their own morals before they decide to vote. Only we as individuals can change society as a whole. It would be shameful if we passed by a great future leader. What would America be like if Abraham Lincoln was never elected?  A tragic choice like this could forever change our society, from its potential.

downloading

The illegal downloading of music just sounds like a problem I don't want. I know lots of people do it and get away with it everyday, but, I just don't feel comfortable with it for some reason.

Oh ya, I have lots of friends and people I know that probably do things like this everyday. They have full ipods and lots of music on their computer. I do enjoy listening to their music in their car and at their house, but I just don't feel that it is right, so I don't do it.

I think that people don't feel like illegally downloading music is wrong because they watch shows like MTV cribs and see how rich the musicians are. They feel like downloading the music is such a small loss for such rich people. But, to me, I feel as though stealing from anyone is still stealing.

I know that I sound ridiculous, but, I am willing to work a little harder to feel better about myself. I don't judge other people for their choice and I think it is interesting how it is being handled. I am not sure how the music industry is going to stop the problem. I suppose time will tell.

Me and Music

Music is an important part of our culture, but, each generation it changes. That includes mine and sometimes our parents are even shocked by what they hear. My music of choice doesn't happen to be all that shocking though. Can you guess what I listen to?

That's right, I listen to country music. It hasn't changed all that much, other than being a little more optimistic than it used to be and it has less of a twang sound to it. I like that it is very American and I also like the lyrics that come along with country music.

There are many different styles of music available today aside from country music. There is rap, techno, alternative rock and pop. Each has its own crowd of listeners. Rap is typically inner city music, derogatory toward women and violent. Techno, it is just weird and has weird people that listen to it. Pop music is kind of middle of the road and many artists cross into this area with their music. Country is all American and many people listen to it from coast to coast.

I don't believe that country music is very controversial from one generation to the next. My parents and even grandparents enjoy listening to my music. I like that I can listen to it and not worry that is offending anyone. It is a traditional form of music and I like it.

Music is something that has changed throughout time and usually, kids choose music to express themselves in a way that shocks their parents. There are many types to choose from and each is different from the next. But, the form I choose isn't very controversial and my entire family likes it.