[Prev|Next|Index] Thu, Feb 22, 1996 Geoffrey Feldman

Give it all up so kids can graze like sheep.

     By Geoffrey Feldman

     The fundamental problem seems to be that people are putting other
     values over those upon which this country was founded.

     The internet is bringing us all back to the condition of
     villages. Again we are a nation of shopkeepers. Again, someone
     can have an impact by nailing a broadside to a tree (or a web
     page to the net). These were the social conditions that created
     this country.

     Now the redcoats are coming.

     What of our children? Children do not buy personal computers.
     They get them from adults. Giving up democracy so mommy and daddy
     can watch wheel of fortune while junior surfs the net, free of
     any troubling thoughts is not right. The solution for parents is
     the same as it was in the colonial village. Dont let your kids
     run loose! Participate with them, be there with them, steer them
     where you think they should go. Dont let your kids do something
     with the internet you would not let them do alone on the streets.

     The internet is a place of ideas. It is very powerful in that
     regard. As a powerful thing, it can do bad as well as good. It is
     a parents responsibility to manage their childrens activities so
     they are nourished and not poisoned. It is not governments
     responsibility to weed up every mushroom and most of the flowers
     so children can graze like idiots on the village green.

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