Battlefront (25 Dec. 2008)

Margot said this:

"People are reviled for refusing to do the Santa dance with their children.

Santa is about training children to pretend to believe the preposterous in order to get a material reward, however destructive and brain-sucking the 'reward' may be."

In response, I said this:

"Well, if the material reward is an Xbox 360, it can stimulate the brain and maybe even provide spiritual uplift. Have you ever played Star Wars' Battlefront? I know, I know--it's an old game; but it's still my very favorite!"

In response, she said this:

"Battlefront? I rest my case. I'd rather children sat on the snow by the river and watched swans."

And in response, I said this:

"Margot, river-side, swan-watching might be just the thing gardening lions might one day come to prefer, but for children already half-frozen by the after-shocks of 9/11, better parenting advice comes from those such as Royal Tenenbaum, who advocate unrestrained, active, mobility:

'I'm not talking about dance lessons. I’m talking about putting a brick through the other guy’s windshield. I’m talking about taking it out and chopping it up!'"

Link: The Tyee