After not watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for a good many years, I watched him again last week. Amazing thing was, I enjoyed that animated show as much as I did the first time I saw it with my son, many years ago. It has a wonderful message. In fact, it has several wonderful messages– that we don’t all have to be the same, that laughing at people who are different is wrong, that everyone is worthwhile and we all have something to contribute. It has the talented voice of Burl Ives and at the end, evil loses and good triumphs. So, why was I not surprised when the next day, some far-off critics in their profound wisdom, said it is flawed?
One by one, somebody, somewhere, picks apart the things that the vast majority of Americans have enjoyed or taken to our hearts for decades. Also, Charlie Brown has something wrong with him. Louisa May Alcott wrote racist books; if it’s something that is good and right, then some elitist decides that it can’t be good for us and has to go. Books and movies are being removed because they just could offend someone somewhere and stunt social development and awareness.
Do we really need someone taking care of our psyches? Are we not adults who can decide things for ourselves without the aid of a self-styled expert? Can’t we decide what’s best or not best for our children? Are we children ourselves who don’t have enough sense to govern our own lives? Last time I checked, televisions still have an off button and books in the library don’t jump off the shelves and go home with us if we don’t check them out. And, by the way, these so-called flaws that the critics have picked out may exist only in their minds. I would never have thought of them, so why did they?
When will it stop? When will we stop being so afraid of offending someone that, one by one, the things we’ve held dear or been taught are stripped away? And, most important, when will we stop bending to the whim of every far-fetched wind that blows and say, enough?
Enough!
Agreed, Peg. Thanks for writing