To vent or not to vent.
Since I am a journalist by choice, ability and education, I don't get to make rebuttals towards letters to the editor written to my employer, the local newspaper.Going through my normal monday routine, I was at the paper doing my normal proofreading duties when I ran across the letters to the editor page. Usually in our small conservative hometown of 4000, we get one or two letters dealing with what the writer deems as religious issues or something of that nature. Of the three that were slated to be run, two jumped out at me.
The first was a rebuttal letter to a previous letter. The letter that they were rebutting, was criticizing the ACLU for not wanting to support Boy Scout troops, either near or on military installations. Fine and dandy that someone wanted to make a point about it. I'm all about people expression their opinions.
What got to me is how the people who wrote the rebuttal letter, compared the Boy Scout troops across the country to Hitler and the Communists. Excuse me??? How does one arrive at that conclusion? Since when have the Boy Scouts and all that they stand for, remind people of a swastika and all that it stands/stood for? According to the letter, by letting children be in Scouts only encourages military service, in the same way in which Hitler used patriotic clubs to swell his military ranks. Last time I checked, this was the United States of America. People have a choice to do what they want. Boy Scouts is not a recruitment tool for the military. I know plenty of people who never were involved in scouts who were lifers in the military. I know Scouts who never went into the military. I was never in Scouts. Don't come at me firing away with some quote of some president of some stupid organization saying that it parallels 1930s Germany. That's just ignorant.
Once communism was brought up, the letter quickly said that we as Americans need the seperation of Church and State because once the state tells you what Church to go to, that means you've become Communist. I'm not even going to go near that issue. I was more shocked that they decided to compare Boy Scouts to Communists and Nazis.
I think it had to be like the Red Scare of the 1950's. People, it's 2005. Get a grip.
The second letter had to do with the cancellation of a high school dance. I was in high school back 13 years ago when they actually canceled a dance because at least 50% of the patrons were intoxicated. That is something understandable because the drinking paranoia was in full force. In fact, partying had become stereotypical of the "in-crowd."
Fast forward to 2005. This dance was canceled because as the author told it, "dancing leads to sex." Oh dear God. We're in the movie "Footloose." Yes, I know we're in a small fairly conservative community in the middle of Kansas, but canceling a dance because supposedly it leads to sex? Come on. I want to know who the Bible beating administrator was who had the insight that because of one high school dance, all the kids were out having unprotected sex.
Here's the kicker. Instead of a dance, they are havine a "Couples Night." Hmmm, let's check on that one. Now instead of promoting an activity that includes all the willing high school population, the organizers are promoting an activity that encourages people to show up in couples? Good move there Reverend Shaw Moore. Could "Couples Night" even produce a more condusive environment that could lead to wild fornication of teenagers? Oh I think that it could. The potential is there. What's to not stop these kids from thinking 'Wow, this couples night will be lame. Maybe instead we should go watch a movie over at so-and-so's house since their parents aren't home.' A dark room, high school kids and hormones running wild without supervision? Orgy anyone? Good call by the administration on that one, because the school can't supervise people in their own homes, but they can chaperone a dance.
What about my 13 year old sister and her first two middle school dances? Now that they are dancing, is my sister out having sex because she was dancing? Um no she's not. Why is it different with a 13-year old 7th grader? Because they don't know? That's total horsecrap. They know. They know more than they let on.
I swear I feel like I have flashed back to 1958. What's next? Book Burning? Banning of Rock and Roll?
I said it once and I'll say it again.
Dear God people, get a grip.
posted by Rusty @ 2:29 PM
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