I’m so blissfully unaware of the tough times ahead as I help raise a daughter in the U.S. I know I should be more thankful that I don’t yet have to worry about what Ava wears (or doesn’t wear) when she leaves the house. Maybe I never will have to worry about it. What the hell am I going to do when she brings home her first date? Wait. Kids don’t date anymore, at least not outside of a group. I keep forgetting.
Anyway, the WSJ has a story today about the TV that’s playing in Iraq these days. Not a lot different from what’s playing here in the states, of course, which is the really unfortunate outcome of the war to oust Saddam (or whatever it was for). I was particularly struck by this exchange:
They watch “Desperate Housewives” and reality shows like “So You Think You Can Dance?” They also see the news about Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan and some say they are worried about the way young girls grow up in America.
“Do you think it’s a good place for daughters?” one Iraqi friend asked rhetorically.
“If I go to America, I will leave my wife and daughter here,” replied another.
No doubt. I live one block from a high school and am married to a woman who bathes in MTV programming like it’s a tub filled with downy feathers plucked from rare exotic birds. I see what goes on with women around here. Between Audrina’s bewildering relationship with Justin-Bobby, Julia Roberts parking in handicap spaces, and Britney being pregnant AGAIN, well, it’s a wonder any girls ever make it out of puberty in this country. Where are the role models?