Pop Culture

    I decided to do my reflection of pop culture over television shows that make the role of fatherhood something to ridicule. I have been taught at an early age to honor and respect my parents, with the role of my dad being at the top. However, since the late 80's, the hit on dad's has sky rocketed. Shows such as Married...with Children, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Home Improvement are just a few that portray fathers as nothing more than bumbling idiots who are saved at the end of the day by the wit and charm of their wives. How can we teach our own children to honor and respect their parents when they are bombarded by shows that teach otherwise?

    I believe part of problem stems from women asserting themselves after years of oppression. Looking back at shows that portrayed women as being the dutiful and docile homemaker. One such show was Leave it to Beaver. Ward Cleaver was the successful businessman, June was his wife who stayed home, cooked dinner, and played the dutiful mom. She always deferred any and all family problems to her husband because he was the smart one and the one in charge. It was around this time when women asking for more independence. Roles started to change in the 60's with television shows like The Flying Nun, That Girl, and Bewitched. Although the role of independent women in television was, and still is, needed, perhaps the perpetual pendulum has swung a little too far.

    Since the late 80's many shows have been seen relegating fatherhood as something to be mocked. To counter this, shows have been made that have portrayed fathers as being single and able to care for their children without benefit of a stable, live-in female role model. Full House, My Two Dads, and Different Strokes are just a few of the television shows that lend a hand to the image of a father in full support of his mental and emotional capabilities of raising kids.

    

    As long as there are parents who remain cognizant of what is appropriate for their child and the message they desire for their child to absorb, then there is still hope that the sanctity of fatherhood will remain intact. There is a saying that "it takes a village to raise a child" and while that is true, seeing the family unit portrayed as the center of that "village" is the heart of the "village."

 Dialectics Activity

I had a conversation with a peer student. We introduced ourselves and found that while we had some differences, we had a lot more in common. We discussed our families, our health, our religion, and our politics.

She was a second-generation Texan from Mexico. She quit her job to take care of her ailing father, her mother had died a couple years earlier. She had an older brother, now deceased, so she is alone as the caregiver. We talked about how she was raised, specifically how her culture has the expectations of family taking care of family, no matter the circumstance. I remarked that more often than not, children push the care-taking to institutions. I, unfortunately, being among that number. It helped me to realize that there are probably quite a few adult children who had no choice but to look to outside help for their aging parents, just as I had. I grew up as the middle child of nine: four brothers and four sisters. I have six children and I teach full time.

We discussed our health problems, her with Marfans Syndrome and I with Type II Diabetes. We both realized that we tend to put others in front of our own medical needs, when in fact we need to take care of us so we can be ready to take care of our loved ones.

I spoke up and told her that I am an outspoken Christian who will not back down or be silent when the opportunity presents itself for me to share my testimony. She, on the other hand, replied that while she believed in God, she was not one to speak out. She goes to a non-denominational church, to which I said that one of my best times at a church was when I was a member of a non-denominational one. One of my biggest problems is keeping my viewpoints to myself! But, when I hear someone saying something that is contrary to my beliefs, well, I tend to say something as well. This leads me to my final point, the difference in our politics.

My peer is quite satisfied to listen to other points of view and silently agree or disagree. She seems to be all about keeping peace...which is something I need to learn to do! I am staunchly conservative, or more to the point, a libertarian where she leans to the Democratic side. She did qualify her statement by saying that there is much she disagrees with on both sides, which I concur.

As I stated at the beginning, we do have our disagreements, but we both love people and find that we have much in common. It was a very pleasant conversation and I can only hope I can call on her again!

 Border Crossings

     Two of my sons play in a game called Dungeons & Dragons along with a friend of theirs. I had previously sat and listened in on a few of the "gaming sessions" and thought it was amusing. When this assignment came along, I thought, why not? This is "crossing borders" into a realm where only gaming nerds dared to go; so, I decided to ask my oldest son if I could participate in one of his gaming sessions.

    This past Saturday, April 9, I sat at the gaming table with the appropriate gaming equipment which consisted of a set of seven dice, a character sheet, a pencil, and a notebook. I had previously asked Joshua, my son, if he would not tell the others that I was going to game with them. He agreed and gave me a brief run-down of what to expect. I was given the character of a halfling thief to play and my adventuring party consisted of a ranger and a mage (both half elven).

    I was the first one to arrive at Joshua's house, so he had a chance to make sure I sat next to him, in case he needed to advise me. My other son, Frank, showed up along with Brandon, a close friend of the family. We exchanged pleasantries, the others assuming I would leave to go hang out with my daughter-in-law. They were a bit surprised and, if I read their faces correctly, frustrated. After all, I was an old lady, comparatively, and it would be weird to play D & D with your mom, or your friend's mom.

    Joshua told them I just wanted to experience what they were doing because I was old and becoming senile (he was joking...I hope!) and I wanted first-hand knowledge of the game. Everyone laughed and they welcomed me...after all, I was MOM.

    It was an interesting gaming session. I acted out the part of a halfling thief, used a crossbow as my weapon of choice, and did all the sneaking for my adventuring party. I hid a smile when I almost was done in by a monstrous mushroom with tentacles. Brandon's character quickly came to my rescue and chopped it down; however, I didn't know if it was to save my character or to save "MOM." I will admit that I spent most of my time worrying about what they thought about me...after all, I'm almost sixty!

    The gaming session lasted several hours and I was definitely ready to call it a day! My boys said that I did a great job and that there were times they actually forgot that MOM was playing. Now that is what I considered a compliment. As for gaming, I think I'll leave it to the younger generation.