A Plea to Movie-goers

I saw this blog on CNN.com and the ensuing debate that erupted between parents of young kids who want to see The Dark Knight and people with no kids who want to see The Dark Knight. Put simply, most of the arguments sucked. It never helps when people use poor grammar and non-existent words, but most of the arguments came down to either "I paid good money for this movie and want to enjoy it" or "It's okay for children to see movies if they are well behaved". Others blamed corporate America for producing advertisements and toys for this movie marketed directly for kids.

Only a few people mentioned that parents need to take responsibility for their child's actions/inactions/upbringing in general. This is an idea that goes right over most people's heads these days. Those without kids automatically assume no parent raises their kid properly. Those with kids think they are the only ones who raise them properly.

Unfortunately, I've seen what happens when when a person becomes desensitized to sex, violence, and language too early in life. They are the people who laugh during Sin City when a character has his limbs sawed off and a wolf comes and gnaws on him. They are the people who vocabulary is limited to George Carlin's seven words you can't say on television or radio. They are the people who think it is an unbearable social stigma to have never slept with someone before college.

My only request is that if you have kids, make educated decisions in their lives. If you are going to have kids, make educated decisions in their lives. And if you don't have kids, you help those that do. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and we all know children are pretty weak.