We are a football-watching family. Young and old, we all
enjoy Saturday and Sunday afternoon ballgames. Blood and guts on the field are
part of the game. But this year, the blood and guts in the commercials for the
new fall line-up, sent two of our grandsons running for cover, even more
terrified when bedtime rolled around.
It’s not just the ads on TV that are rattling the boys’
bones. On the way to school, they’re seeing billboards of dead men coming alive
before their eyes, begging their parents to come to the Haunted House around
the corner.
It used to be that scary, creepy happened leading up to
Halloween and then went away till the next year. But today, it’s with us year
round and it’s more gruesome than ever. Think of the first releases of Harry
Potter, Spiderman and Batman. Now, compare those with their latest releases.
Quite different.
Hollywood used to portray the best in us. Today they portray
the worst. We have become obsessed with the dark side.
So what can we do as parents and educators? Encourage
children to look beyond the gore of zombies for their costumes to put the fun
back in Halloween, while you work on doing something about the images the rest
of the year.
Encourage your children to dress up as heroes, not villains.
My sons’ favorite Halloween costume was the year they dressed as Ghostbusters
in jumpsuits with proton backpacks and a floating “Slimer”. We painted Slimer’s
face on a green helium-filled balloon and added green construction paper hands.
Fishing line tied to one of the boys’ belts, held him in place.
What can you do about the gruesome images the rest of the
year? Call the FCC. Call your local TV stations that carry the out-of-bounds
horror shows in primetime. Let your voice be heard, for the sake of the
children.
Isn’t it worth a little of your time to keep children from being terrified?
Isn’t it worth a little of your time to keep children from being terrified?
From our hearts to yours,
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