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Virtual realities

There's a small daycare near my office. It's about what you'd expect for a small daycare — a nondescript building in the front, and a play area in the back with swings, a playhouse, a big yellow slide, and lots of mulch underneath. Occasionally I can go outside and see the kids playing behind the chain link fence surrounding the little yard. There's a sidewalk leading up to the edge of the play yard, and the kids all march out of the building in a line on the sidewalk, then hit the plastic playground equipment like gangbusters.

It occurs to me that maybe kids aren't supposed to be fenced in like this, trapped in a chain link cage like zoo animals. Maybe kids aren't supposed to be marched in a line, lined up on a sidewalk, and then turned loose to climb around on pieces of plastic. Their feet never even touch the ground. Maybe they'd be happier climbing trees, chasing butterflies, touching frogs, truly exploring the environment.

There are a few houses near my office too. Many of the people living in these houses have dogs. The dogs spend most of their time outside, wandering around their respective yards behind chain link fence. When a person walks through the neighborhood, the dogs all bark but otherwise don't get too excited. When another dog walks through the neighborhood, though, it's a different story. The dogs charge their fences, jump up and down, paw at the ground, and generally act crazy. I don't speak dog, so I don't know what they're saying — but they're clearly saying something different to the people and to the other dogs.

It occurs to me that maybe dogs aren't supposed to be caged up behind a chain link fence like zoo animals either. Maybe dogs aren't supposed to be jumping up and down, yet trapped, when one of their comrades passes by — maybe they're supposed to be out there with them, roaming the neighborhood, marking territory and fucking, and being dogs, for Christ's sake, instead of pseudo watchdogs who don't get too excited when a strange person walks past, tired toys for absent masters.

And we sit in our living rooms and watch "reality" shows about people living on islands and trying to become famous because it's cheaper to make those kinds of programs than pay actors to entertain us and writers to develop fiction — which, itself, is a pale substitute for anything going on outside, in the streets, in people's lives, in every village in the world.

What kind of society are we becoming? What are we letting ourselves become?

Posted September 13, 2009 @ 23:20:34 EDT. 2 comments.

Comments on "Virtual realities":

When I was in grade school, they marched us out and turned us loose on giant, rusty, metal playground equipment on pavement. Mulch? They're coddling these kids!
And remember, Gary Larson's scientist invented the dog translator hat, and they were all saying "Hey! Hey!"

# Posted by Stephen Beckner on September 15, 2009 @ 08:40:32 EDT.

The dogs need to be allowed to interact with other dogs. Most of them, if turned loose, would only go and play with the strange dogs, after some sniffing and finding out who is boss. I let my dog run around the neighborhood most of the day, since everyone around here knows her now. The other dogs I used to have when I was living in an isolated place were not very friendly to strangers.

Anyway, my dogs taught me that being isolated just makes you kind of afraid of people and not very trusting. I am that way myself, having lived out in the boonies for a very long time.

I agree that the kids do not need to be fenced in. It seems that anymore, that is the way of the world now. I left my kids in child care a lot and I hated the isolation that they endured every day. I wonder daily if the children being raised now will only remember being very controlled. I will stop now before I get into the book called I think, 1984.

# Posted by Cindy Aliff on September 15, 2009 @ 22:58:39 EDT.

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