Another Halloween has passed us and I wonder why we don't allow our kids to participate in the "trick" part of "trick-or-treating" any more. A long time ago, that phrase was a question and a threat. Give me some decent treats or get vandalized. Even a good treat wasn't enough to protect you that night if you landed on a child's mischief list.
In the classic film, Meet Me in St. Louis, Halloween in the early 20th century is depicted. The kids in town, all without supervision, seemed far less interested in treats and far more interested in the dastardly deeds they were going to participate in. Some of those deeds were dastardly ingenious.
It turns out Halloween back then was something where kids actually experienced a little danger. It was scary, but they were the ones that brought danger to the night. Minor infractions and vandalism were not just committed, but expected and tolerated. It was one night where adults allowed children and teenagers to be bad.
But now Halloween is totally commercialized, totally safe--and totally boring. Being bad back then inspired a sort of creativity. But now, it's not only too risky to allow our kids to explore such things; it's dangerous. They could have criminal charges filed against them for the same things that used to be tolerated in a safer environment.
I suspect that this is because we live in a more evil world now. It seemed like harmless fun back then to let our kids let their devil out for an evening. Now that is just not a safe thing to do for our children.
Now our kids can no longer accept homemade treats. It could be unsafe. It's necessary to check each individual piece of their candy for tampering. Someone could have added something to it to harm anyone who eats it. Now there is the serious danger and concern of abduction when our children are out for the night.
My desire for a more scary night like 'it used to be' is really a desire for a safer life. I long for a time when the world was good enough that we could allow children to be bad for an evening.
In the classic film, Meet Me in St. Louis, Halloween in the early 20th century is depicted. The kids in town, all without supervision, seemed far less interested in treats and far more interested in the dastardly deeds they were going to participate in. Some of those deeds were dastardly ingenious.
It turns out Halloween back then was something where kids actually experienced a little danger. It was scary, but they were the ones that brought danger to the night. Minor infractions and vandalism were not just committed, but expected and tolerated. It was one night where adults allowed children and teenagers to be bad.
But now Halloween is totally commercialized, totally safe--and totally boring. Being bad back then inspired a sort of creativity. But now, it's not only too risky to allow our kids to explore such things; it's dangerous. They could have criminal charges filed against them for the same things that used to be tolerated in a safer environment.
I suspect that this is because we live in a more evil world now. It seemed like harmless fun back then to let our kids let their devil out for an evening. Now that is just not a safe thing to do for our children.
Now our kids can no longer accept homemade treats. It could be unsafe. It's necessary to check each individual piece of their candy for tampering. Someone could have added something to it to harm anyone who eats it. Now there is the serious danger and concern of abduction when our children are out for the night.
My desire for a more scary night like 'it used to be' is really a desire for a safer life. I long for a time when the world was good enough that we could allow children to be bad for an evening.
About the Author:
Author Kasey Morton writes extensively on a large range of topics. He writes on many subjects related to small businesses, marketing, movies, and insurance matters, and particularly on nursing jobs and travel nursing jobs.
0 comments:
Post a Comment