When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to watch too much television. It was mostly harmless Saturday morning cartoons, peewee Herman (until Reubens arrest, I still remember crying when my mom told me I couldn't watch it anymore but not why) bozo the clown and the like.
I distinctly remember being afraid of quicksand as in my Saturday world it seemed like someone was always getting stuck in quicksand. So naturally, that was my main concern when traipsing through the nearby forest.
I certainly wasn't afraid of my parents hurting me, or bullies at school, war or violence of any sort.... Just regular old quicksand. But those are exactly the topics that worry kids today; and after 36 years of travelling I've never once encountered quicksand in real life.
I definitely agree with Dostoyevsky in that we should never deny information to kids on the basis that they are too little to understand. And that maybe kids understand violence and oppression all too well.
Do they have to grow up knowing the evils of the world early on, or do they instead deserve a chance at ignorant bliss for a while?
Obviously TV for kids is a bad idea in general. And maybe I'm wrong and kids should be informed. Maybe those same kids will see a clear path to the utopia I and many others dream of. Maybe, maybe.
I sort of feel that anarchy is really a childlike notion in many ways. Not in an immature, selfish or negative sense, but in a way that is more in line with nature.
Instead of cramming ourselves into cities, anarchy would require us to spread out and have room to play. What could be more childlike than constant learning and cooperation?
Anyway, I'm stoned and rambling. Maybe someday soon I'll go somewhere and find some quicksand and jump in with both feet.
