We Are Family

Manifesto

A relative of mine who is in charge of the curriculum in her school district received a number of queries from parents about the "We Are Family" video that James Dobson was so upset about. In the end, she convinced those parents that there was really nothing there to be worried about.

Over at Pandagon, there is a great post about a school district where they decided that this video would somehow warp their children's minds. Jesse's main point, which I really enjoyed:

Here's the major problem: as a society, we tend to go through various phases of how we view and treat children. Sometimes, it's as little adults, people who can handle anything adults can, just with less experience. At the other end, we treat them as little porcelain angels who will break if they're exposed to the slightest stress. There's a medium there, and it involves realizing that children are actually human beings with minds and intellects, and if they can hold in stats on every Pokemon game and the entire spectrum of dinosaurs, they can understand "be tolerant" and "don't put yourself in danger" at the same time.

They're children, people, not morons.