Easter Egg Punt

Sometimes it's hard to overcome a basic pessimism about the future of American society. I am by nature pretty optimistic, but it's hard to look at societal trends and hold to that spirit. In my usual fashion, I am expounding on this topic based on a news story that I have not read nor have any intention of reading. This one is about the Easter Egg hunt gone awry (and by the way, I've always favored pronouncing that word aw'-ree).

In general, I hate the presence of stories like that in my newspaper, real or virtual. Why do I care about some stupid ritual in Colorado Springs? I don't, but I feel like a big part of what's screwing up this country is parents seeking to cushion every possible blow their kids might receive. I've certainly been guilty of this at times, but I've learned my lesson. Not only can't it be done, it shouldn't be done. If a kid doesn't learn how to cope with the searing psychic pain of not finding an Easter egg, how are they going to be able to cope when something bad actually happens, like if their best friend moves to Des Moines or they get a B on a history term paper.

Parents, of course, have the right to psychologically cripple their kids; it's so difficult to avoid that inflicting some kind of damage is almost a job requirement. But whatever mistakes I've made have at least come as a mistaken conclusion to some thinking process. It's the lack of thought by what seems like a vast segment of Americans that scares the bejeezus out of me (always wanted to use that phrase...).

This is kind of a deep and complicated topic for this blog, and I don't have time to follow through on it right now, but I will in the near future.