Politics are always strange. Here is a selection of recent videos just for fun.
Okay, this one is for Maddie. It's a little long, but it's amusing. Especially if you like to see how stupid religious, conservatives can make themselves sound.
This whole video is funny. Karl Rove raps and dances. If you're pressed for time start the video at 1 minute 30 seconds to see the action.
This one is just too good not to include. Fergie ain't got nothin' on Condi.
This would not be complete without some stupid Bush momeents.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Give teenagers some more credit
Smoking cigarettes in movies causes much outrage among people. Parents are upset because they believe that teens watching movies will be tempted to mimic the stars, and develop the unhealthy habit. As a teen, I must say that this worry is unfounded.
First of all, my generation has had the benefit of knowledge and education about the subject of smoking. Students learn about the harmful effects of tobacco use as early as elementary school. Seeing a character in a movie smoke will not counteract the knowledge of how bad it is to smoke.
Many factors contribute to a teen’s decision of whether or not to smoke. Some include parental example and opinion, peer pressure, facts about the effects of smoking, tobacco advertisements, and the laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to teens. In my opinion, all of these factors weigh more heavily than following the example of a smoking movie star. As a teenager I am insulted that people believe I will be influenced so easily.
Statistics seem to support my view that smoking in Hollywood has little impact on teens. Since 1982, the occurrence of smoking in movies has doubled, but statistics show that the smoking rates of teens have decreased by 40% since 1997 (Source: American Lung Association). Following the example of fictional characters in movies doesn’t seem to be happening.
The focus of this issue has been how smoking in movies affects teenagers; but what about how it relates to movie makers? Hollywood gets made out to be the evil force in this issue. This simply does not make sense! Completely eliminating smoking from movies would make the films an unrealistic portrayal of actual society. In real life, people do smoke. Pretending that the problem doesn’t exist will not help. Sometimes smoking really does add to characterization, plot or setting. Imagine watching a movie set in 1950 without any reference to smoking. It would be unrealistic. It’s not fair to take away the freedom of expression of movie makers on the premise that taking smoking out of movies might keep teens from smoking. There are more relevant issues to attack to keep new smokers from emerging.
There is no doubt that tobacco related diseases are a huge problem in this country. It is important to keep young people away from smoking and the problems it brings. People must focus on more effective ways of keeping kids educated and away from tobacco than removing it completely from films. Perhaps a preview in movie theaters about the harmful effects of smoking would be helpful. The key idea is that knowledge about the harmful effects be available to kids, not that smoking is unrealistically removed from the media.
First of all, my generation has had the benefit of knowledge and education about the subject of smoking. Students learn about the harmful effects of tobacco use as early as elementary school. Seeing a character in a movie smoke will not counteract the knowledge of how bad it is to smoke.
Many factors contribute to a teen’s decision of whether or not to smoke. Some include parental example and opinion, peer pressure, facts about the effects of smoking, tobacco advertisements, and the laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to teens. In my opinion, all of these factors weigh more heavily than following the example of a smoking movie star. As a teenager I am insulted that people believe I will be influenced so easily.
Statistics seem to support my view that smoking in Hollywood has little impact on teens. Since 1982, the occurrence of smoking in movies has doubled, but statistics show that the smoking rates of teens have decreased by 40% since 1997 (Source: American Lung Association). Following the example of fictional characters in movies doesn’t seem to be happening.
The focus of this issue has been how smoking in movies affects teenagers; but what about how it relates to movie makers? Hollywood gets made out to be the evil force in this issue. This simply does not make sense! Completely eliminating smoking from movies would make the films an unrealistic portrayal of actual society. In real life, people do smoke. Pretending that the problem doesn’t exist will not help. Sometimes smoking really does add to characterization, plot or setting. Imagine watching a movie set in 1950 without any reference to smoking. It would be unrealistic. It’s not fair to take away the freedom of expression of movie makers on the premise that taking smoking out of movies might keep teens from smoking. There are more relevant issues to attack to keep new smokers from emerging.
There is no doubt that tobacco related diseases are a huge problem in this country. It is important to keep young people away from smoking and the problems it brings. People must focus on more effective ways of keeping kids educated and away from tobacco than removing it completely from films. Perhaps a preview in movie theaters about the harmful effects of smoking would be helpful. The key idea is that knowledge about the harmful effects be available to kids, not that smoking is unrealistically removed from the media.
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