John E. Carey
Peace and Freedom
May 5, 2007
Bad conduct or bad people or both have made me an “up in arms” critic of self importance, self luxuriating and the like.
Dennis Miller used to say, sorry if I go on a rant here. Well here goes.
Now let’s take the American High School Prom. I went to a few in the 1970s wearing my Dad’s tux. Her Dad dropped her off and my Dad dropped me off. Pick up at 1100. No limo, no grant eat-a-thon. We just danced, ate cookies and drank punch and took delight in each other and our classmates.
Today’s prom is the Frankenstein of gluttonous self pampering and waste. Allow the High Schools to run this train has run our system of values off the tracks. If little Jimmy comes to me with a limo idea, a meal in a hotel and after-parties, I’m saying we are slashing the budget in half and giving the half we save to some more worthy projects than ourselves. We going to learn a little community service and charity.
Or we can take the savings and go on a summer trip: maybe to the National Cathedral in Washington DC, maybe to Virginia Tech, maybe to the Gettysburg National Military Park to learn some history.
Or I know: we’ll ask our pastor for a family or community prayer meeting to give thanks and give back. We’ll give him a big donation. Or we’ll have a family seminar on good rules of life including integrity and helping out your fellow man who has much less “stuff” than our family.
But we are not giving to some thug named Guido who has a big car and we are not dining at the Hyatt or the Hilton just because that’s “neat.”
Heck, our High School kids are getting as wasteful and pork heavy as our Congressmen and Senators. The give-aways are staggering.
And why do the kids need to spend all this look? Peer pressure, which should be condemned by all parents and all pastors. And the insidiousness of American marketing geniuses. MTV tells the kids to whiten their teeth, buy all the CD’s, carry their iPod with them al all times, and keep on upgrading those mind-numbing video games.
Enough. I am starting to believe in home schooling and a date with Mom and Dad at the end. Spend the money on college.
We have daily lessons in self inulgence and ignoring rules and laws. Paris Hilton just did it. After a series of arrests she showed up in court late and maybe even lied to the judge. Now she’ll miss the prom. Her Mom even gave some lip to the judge. Parent Alert! They learn a lot of this from YOU!
And we see High School football players transition into colleges that didn’t admit for their skills in chemistry and physic end up in drunken brawls an in other bizzare situations year round every year. We even had a brawl at a GAME last season. The Straight A Students from the University of Miami mixed it up pretty well with the Religion and Morality Leaders of America: the team from Florida International University.
These are our High Schoolers’ ROLE MODELS. Add rappers, those that peddle violent and misogynist filth and a flock of other bad actors with too much money.
I guess I just do not like people always giving themselves perks, gifts and “stuff.” And trading hard earned money to get the stuff. Stuff and self importance show offs are bad for the family, the society and the neighborhood.
We live in something of a “me, me, me” society.
When you listen to military people, especially those that have been wounded and the medical corpsmen, they always talk about helping out their buddies before themselves.
While serving in Iraq, U.S. Army Sgt. Tommy Rieman had been shot in the right arm and chest, and had more than 50 shrapnel wounds to his chest, stomach and ear. “I got moving to help those wounded more seriously than me.”
How many in your local High School would think this way?
Bill Gates intrigues me. He lives well but he also had to create a foundation to figure ways to give a truck load away to good cause. I know, I know he gets a great tax break but he is for real: in Vietnam, Africa and elsewhere. Always up to some good works.
The Royal Family in Britain live in opulence but Harry is going to war by his own choice, Princess Dianna was the poster child for charity events and projects and Prince Charles spends a lot of time on his schedule pushing charitable efforts. I applaud them.
John Edwards and his $400 hairstyling is just what we need less of in the United States.
And you can add the entire Royal-Wedding-like prom.
After all, the achievement of completing High School has been severely diminished in value over the years, according to study after study. You don’t really come out of High School if you are managing your life well: you are going INTO college.
Role Models in Self Importance:
John Edwards, The $400 Haircut, My Two Wives and Me
Hillary Really Fussy About Aircraft
Paris Hilton Sentenced to 45 Days in Jail
What do our kids do in their “off time?”
Video Games and What’s Going On In Your Child’s Brain
