Trust Me.

In 20 years, the young people of the world will be laughing at you. "Inappropriate" use of social media.

These children who will have grown up with more explicit pictures, and real-world reality exposure than most of us can even imagine.

The social boundaries exploding in the Middle East**. The collapse of a financial empire, or two, propped up only for pretend in the intermediate transition period. Choices, hard choices, to be made...

They tweeted, and twittered, and giggled and reported. Like girls. About a man's private parts, being sent privately, to other participating players. Adult women.

Trust me: this is an overlap of pre-Title IX ladies (yep, ladies, not women) in power positions, who still want a "special" carveout for ladylike sensibilities and heteronormative marriage protection expectations, with the new generation of technologies and social mores.

Right now, the Past is winning. In suppressing real news, to cover the dramatic soap-opera tales.

In 20 years though, nobody will remember Anthony's personal peccadillos, but they might read of what was happening on the Syria-Israel border. In Libya, as we chased down another foreign leader with hundreds of sorties per week.

And the pricetag goes up ... as the till tallies the costs of our unaffordable social programs (40% of America's children are born on Medicaid -- 40%, whose parents can't even afford to pay the medical bills to bring them home, much less take care of them privately without government support), and our foreign wars, and our social committments abroad...

Hot time, summer in the city.
Back of my neck, feeling hot and gritty.

Some day, trust me, the children will look back at this cast of aging Boomers now playing out their social rebellions and morality tales, and laugh at the priorities of all of you:

It's not about the cybersex, stupid.
(Eyes on the ball, ladies*?)
Get on base honestly, and get your heads back in the game...

Iran anyone?


----------------
* Here's an idea: don't tell your children anything about this sordid media affair. Sent the little ones out to play this summer, and nevermind fretting how as a clueless young parent, you'll reveal these secrets of the universe to junior. Hth.

Motherlode
Adventures in Parenting
June 7, 2011, 10:42 am
Explaining Anthony Weiner to Children
By LISA BELKIN

Maybe make them some lemonade, when they come in thirsty, and to keep your mind busy, thinking about the children and not the Congressman's drawers? Really, they don't need to know. Trust me.


ADDED: Ah, it's not just the ladies.

Some of the fellas have delicate sensitivities too -- converted Catholic Ross Douthat wants an act of contrition (presumably public) to go along with that tear-stained apology to all those personally offended by the Congressman's private behavior. But then, Douthat has a daughter, and has developed a "daughter test", so maybe his internal morality measure too has been defined down dramatically:

A confession is just words, so much sound and fury, without an act of contrition, and the act of contrition appropriate to Weiner’s offenses is the resignation of his office. When there are real consequences for a shameful act, there can be a second chance — but the whole idea of a second chance implies that you’ve given up your first one.

This is why, to return to an old theme, I’d rather cheer for Michael Vick than cast a vote for Anthony Weiner (or David Vitter, to pick a prominent Republican example), even though Vick’s crimes were far worse than a mere sex scandal.

How about a good old-fashioned tarring-and-feathering then, to take our minds off what's really important this summer?

**

The United Nations condemned the desecration of the mosque.

"The actions of Israeli extremists are highly provocative and threatening," Robert Serry, the U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a statement.

"Consistent with its obligations under international law as the occupying power, the Israeli government must ensure accountability of those responsible and protect the human rights of Palestinians and their property, including religious sites."