2005-07-21 Scared!

I decided to do the food shopping after my meeting and didn't get home until after 11. For those who don't know, I live in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by bogs and woods. Ryun had left the outside light on for me but there were so many moths (seriously, I think we might be under attack)so I shut it off and just used the light from the inside to guide me.

The moon was bright enough to shed some light over the general area but it was also foggy...and the wind was blowing ever so slightly...and the shadows were dancing all over the place.

I grabbed as many bags as I could per trip and slammed the door shut behind me after the last of the bags were in.

It looked like an eery scene from some sort of horror movie...and I was scared!!

2005-07-21 TV

This got me thinking. Is the news of today worse than it was say twenty years ago, or are we as a society just more aware of it and the possible influences it can have on our children? I remember having the news on during dinner as a child. I wouldn't never even conceive of it now(mainly because I think dinner time should be spent discussing the days events and spending time with the family, but also because I find the news to be, well, depressing).

I am not sure how I feel about what "they" think about letting children watch the news. I really don't think kids should be so sheltered that they don't know what a terrible world this can be. How well will that suit them when they are off on their own? They need to know that not everyone is nice ...and that some people are downright mean. They need to know that there are some people in this world who will hurt you because you believe something different than they do, and some people who will hurt you just because. On the flip side, when the news is actually good (stories of hope, inspiration, success, and love), they need to know that not everyone is bad. That there are people in this world that would die for you, people in this world that really do care and really do go the extra mile.

Unfortunately, the good news is so infrequent in comparison to the bad, that it kind of gets pushed under the rug and overshadowed. As much as I want my kids to be "in the know" watching such horrific things such as 9/11 unfold on the news just can't be good for the human psyche. I don't think it is possible to watch the news unfolding in London (and all that went on a couple of weeks ago) and not feel a pang in your heart or a thought about how sad of a world this really is. Maybe it is possible, just not for me.

I constantly debate this topic (tv viewing...what is appropriate, what isn't, how much is too much etc). I can't seem to decide on way or the other.