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Rat Race, Kid Division – 6 Worst Grown-Up Hypocrisies By Christine Durst & Michael Haaren Jan. 19, 2012 As we sidle into another dubious year, maybe it’s a good time to ask ourselves about the roles we’re playing for our kids. The actual roles, that is; not the roles we wished we played. Everybody knows that actions speak louder than words. This is acutely true for children, of course, whose eyes and ears are inconveniently alive to the faintest traces of adult hypocrisy. How many times has a parent, confidently explaining the merits of their latest admonition, been nimbly ambushed by the lucid kid, wearing an innocent look? Since it’s time for New Year’s resolutions, and grown-up hypocrisies form a big part of the kid division of the rat race, we’ll list the six that most often show up in polls of children aged 1 to 18. 1. “Don’t be a bully!” Kids hear this from school systems that bully their parents, school systems that bully teachers, teachers who bully kids, parents who bully kids, and governments who bully everybody. Obviously, there’s much room for improvement here. 2. “Don’t litter!” Kids hear this from parents as they’re driving cars that spray nature with greasy smog, and roll by or over carcasses of deer, raccoons, squirrels, possums, birds, and too many other creatures to mention. They read it on signs on the side of roads next to big piles of bulldozed trees. It’s even on the road that they cut through the trunk of a giant sequoia. We’ll probably need to rethink some of these trends. 3. “Be quiet!” Kids hear this from grown-ups who talk loudly into their cell phones in the car, in the store, in the movies, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the outhouse, on the chamber pot, and from the graveside of a dear departed relative who has gone on to that spotty network in the sky. At some point, we’ll need to look at the message we’re actually sending, but probably not today. 4. “Don’t have sex before you’re married!” Children of many ages hear this from grown-ups who are having sex and aren’t married, who aren’t married but wish they were having sex, who are married and wish they were having sex, and who are married and wish they weren’t having sex. They also hear it from grown-ups whose Internet browser histories lead one to conclude that sex in a jaw-dropping array of styles is very much on their minds, with wedding bands conspicuously absent from the exhibits. Much to ponder here. 5. “Don’t use bad words!” Alas, this freeway to perdition is gridlocked and filled with the hoarse but unbridled oaths of well-earned road rage. 6. “Do as I say, not as I do!” This one never works, of course, but at least we’re getting somewhere. ---- Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is Work at Home Now, a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2012 BY STAFFCENTRIX, DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM |
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