A Matter of Principle: The power of responsibility

By Qarol Price

As a child, I could not wait to grow up. I guess that is not so unusual when you think of all the rules and restrictions kids are generally bound by.

In their eyes, grown-ups are free to do whatever they please. No one tells them what time they must go to bed or how many slices of cake they may eat.

They can wear whatever they choose and can watch any movie they wish. But there was more to it for me.

It was not all those perks that come with adulthood that made me want to grow up so fast. You might say instead that I was having trouble identifying as a child.

I remember in the ‘60s from age eight rejecting children’s themes on anything. From sheets, shirts and hats to plates, cups and hair bows. Whether it be Mickey Mouse or Three Blind Mice — if it was made for children, it was usually too childish and condescending to me.

I remember passing up the cutesy lunchbox themes my friends had like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or Bambi. Instead, I opted for one that sported the psychedelic backdrop to the irreverent ‘60s comedy show “Laugh In.”

While classmates were wearing Barbie blouses, I was wearing countercultural slogans like MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR. While my classmates were listening to The Osmonds and the Jackson Five, I was listening to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.

To my parents’ chagrin, their little third grade daughter wanted to grow up to be a hippie! Funny since you might say that hippies are a sort of cross between a child and an adult. They embody the freedom of an adult but without all the responsibilities.

At age 27, both of my parents were not far from being children themselves at that time in my life.

But their youth didn’t stop them from making responsible decisions as parents. They raised me and my brothers in the age of television without either one of them having had the benefit of a TV in their own childhood households.

Even though this new technology was novel and exciting, they were able to resist the temptation to overconsume or to use the TV as a hypnotic babysitter in our home. But where did they acquire this wisdom if neither one of them had much television experience?

Lucky for me, my parents had principles. They did not need a manual for raising kids with television.

Instead, they already knew to apply principles such as being skeptical toward advertising propaganda, not mindlessly following the herd, and self-respect through hard work. And of course, use in moderation.

As a result, Mom and Dad, not TV hucksters and mindless sitcom characters, were our chief “influencers.”

But today’s parents have a greater challenge with the allure of smartphones and iPads.

These things have more power to steal one’s time, will and soul than the mightiest of televisions. They have the power to reduce society to a lazy, stupid pity puddle unless we take responsibility for the moral development of ourselves and our children. Taking responsibility is seizing our precious power.

Qarol Price is a writer and educator. She has taught philosophy to children in Johnston County Public Schools and in Harlem. She is a resident of Selma.