Some notes on Living

Alright… not a myth, but for crying out loud! What ever happened to personal responsibility? What happened to being accountable for our own actions? What ever happened to simply admitting to our faults and errors? Are we so “advanced” as a civilization to believe we are always right? Also… whatever happened to just being “crazy“?

Not to beat a dead horse, but remember the Columbine incident? These kids knew exactly what they were doing. They grabbed some guns, and decided that since they didn’t have many friends, they were going to do something drastic about it. I’m not going to dwell on the fact that I’m labeled as a transexual, but I had low self-esteem as a result, and I didn’t have that many friends in high school. Here’s the kicker: I still don’t! That doesn’t mean I automatically have to “go postal” on anyone. While it may not be my fault that I never had too many close friends, I still would have been responsible for any actions that I took to alleviate the emotional stress. So, parents complained that these troubled youth don’t have enough positive role models. They began to blame other people or things: It was Marilyn Manson’s fault. It was Rammstein’s fault. It was a violent video game’s fault, or it was the violence on television. Not once were the kids blamed, or held accountable for their actions. Why? According to the media coverage, this was a pre-meditated incident. They knew they were doing it… they had it all planned out. It could have been avoided. The parents could have intervened. In fact, it’s a parent’s duty. Sure, it would have been thought of as “snooping around“, as in a parental sleuth, but responsibility was still on those kids as well as their parents.

Now, I’m not a big fan of rap, and a lot of rap artists are very misogynistic and demeaning… most of them talk about “rims, Tims, 22’s, 40’s, blunts, and ho’s“… but Eminem (a prominent rap artist) makes a fine point in his song, ‘Who Knew‘ from the Marshall Mathers Album:

“So don’t blame me if little Eric jumps off of the terrace. You should have been watchin’ him. Apparently, you ain’t parents.”

No sugar-coated pill to make the medicine go down. Just plain, simple, brutal honesty. Which makes me wonder – Are we afraid of the truth? Of course, the truth often hurts, but is it really that painful for a parent to take responsibility for their children? Is it that painful to be a responsible person? Parents that are afraid of this truth obviously shouldn’t be parents. If they are so afraid of taking responsibility for their own actions, how can they raise children that will live responsible lives? But then there’s parents who are far too aware of this truth, and feel that they are responsible to a fault. As a result, they overcompensate in their parental duties and become “super parents“. A society of anxiety-stricken and worrisome babysitters. Any slight obscurity, oddity, or “red flag” that is displayed through another person’s actions is an immediate cue to allow this “super parent” to intervene. It could be the slightest thing that could throw them off. Immediately, the “super parent” steps up to the plate.

I’m not saying to parents that you shouldn’t watch your children. You should watch your children. Most of the time the “super parent” has good intentions, but sometimes, all they have to go off of is their own assumptions. This can be a bad thing. Sometimes, parents do what they feel is best for their children, and you can’t really fault the parents for this, but it can sometimes have disastrous results.

Teenager Commits Suicide Because of Internet Bullies

So, there’s parenting, and then there’s over-parenting. Sometimes, this over-parenting can be deadly. Of course, we don’t know who people on the internet really are. That cute boy your daughter has a crush on could be a parent’s worst nightmare. For parents to go to the extreme measure of trying to find out if their daughter’s friends are saying mean things about her by pretending to be a teenage boy… that’s a bit too far out there. Sticks and stones may break my bones… Case in point, people are going to lie, pretend, patronize, react, trash-talk, etc. To censor our actions/words though, is taking away our own personal freedom.

So, the next time you see/hear a music video/song where the band/artist is exhibiting objectionable behavior/content (and/or you don’t want your children to be exposed to it), there are methods to block these things from being seen/heard. Don’t make assumptions about the artist. You don’t know them. Sometimes, the true message is the farthest thing from a person’s assumption. Be responsible of your children, but know where to draw the line.

On the lighter side of things…

***Warning! May be inappropriate for children! Viewer discretion is advised!***

Enjoy!

Love and Peace,

Chloe Elise

R.I.P.: Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, The Patriot)