There will be no little ones from me

Most people plan to have children during the course of their lives. I am not one of them.

A lot of it has to do with the fact that I think I'm barely capable of taking care of myself, let alone a son or daughter. Another portion 9f that decision pertains to the fact that I relish my independence and ability to do what I want when I want. But the big part of this decision, and the subject of this week's article, is that I honestly believe that children are evil.

Like always, I back my claims with evidence. In a story from Florida's Sun Sentinel, an 8-year-old boy was arrested for throwing a neighbor's cat into a yard containing three large dogs, knowing without a doubt that the cat would be killed. The boy was upset with the cat's owner because she kept chasing him out of her yard and thus decided to exact his revenge by executing the neighbor's 2year-old Persian cat. He also admitted to police that he watched the cat die and then fled. But the real kicker to this tale is that the boy already has a juvenile record for crimes such as burglary and arson. And let me reiterate that this kid is only eight years old.

Some people will claim that this kid is a product of our ever-increasing violent world. Others will blame the media. I disagree with both of those opinions. I submit to you the idea that this kid, and other children in this world,

A Letter to the editor

Regarding Chris Vesci's Top Ten Most Annoying Things in Pop Culture List

Why in the world would we turn our noses up at television shows that actually promote something positive and uplifting, when it seems everything on television is sex and violence? The Cabrini College students are from the 80's generation, many of whom grew up with the Tanner family on Full House. And 7th Heaven, about a minister and his family, with yes,a little bit of preaching in it (he is a minister, remember),is only going to foster good behavior and civilized mannerisms. Does the news coverage express that wholesome family television, or for heaven sake the classic movie "Big", about a child's adventures in a grown body? Or is it promoting the violence that took place in Greensboro, N.C. or at Columbine High School?

Technological advances like AOL Instant Messenger and cellular telephones have helped to improve society's systems of communication. If they are misused (as in the example of !Ming another person in the same room) it is simply a misguided understanding of the purpose and usefulness of these advances.

Your tangent last year about the King of Prussia Mall must have escaped my reading list, but shopping is an incredibly popular pastime and the King of Prussia Mall is rated among the largest on the East Coast. So good luckfinding a parking space there, or trying to point out the problems with this wonderful place.

I won't attempt to defend the lack of morals presented are just malevolent creatures to begin with. Think back to when you were a child. Think about the bullies in your school that mercilessly terrorized and beat up other kids. Think about all the gossiping and talking behind people's back there was. Think of all the mean things that children say and do to each other. And why? No reason at all. And that, my friends, is what evil really is; doing something wrong for no reason or just because you can.

I remember writing a paper for my SEM 300 Problem of Evil class about humans being inherently evil. The main argument in the paper was that evil was an instinctual impulse that fed on our natural senses of self-interest and that good was learning how to control those impulses for the sake of the common good. Children have major problems controlling their impulses and that is why they do things for no reason, or if they do have a reason it is a very selfish one, like revenge.

Of course, most people who have kids or want to have kids will retort to my claims with a statement like "We will teach our kids right from wrong and how it's not good to do bad things." I have nothing against fighting the good fight, but there's one variable that you probably haven't accounted for: will your child care about what is right and what is wrong? You can read your child the Bible every day-hell, you can beat your child with the Bible every day-but it won't do a lick of good unless that child learns to care about right and wrong. And that is something that a parent, teacher or anyone else cannot teach. It is something that children must learn themselves and these days it doesn't look like children are learning this essential lesson. If they were, schools wouldn't be in- stituting irrational rules like banning students from having backpacks for fear of them packing guns or expelling students for having negative thoughts about their teachers and classmates. by certain reality-TV shows, but Survivor has risen to the top of the ratings, promotes basic survival skills as well testing wits vs. strength, and even sparked an on-campus recreational activity (giving the Thursday night beer-busting crowd something better to do for a few nights on our college campus).

Yes, I know full well that I am a cynic. I also know that my opinions are rarely popular (except for ones about banning the Bible and religion. Apparently those opinions were so popular that I received only one letter of dissent between the both of them). I know that there are exceptions to pretty much everything in this world, and I know that everything we do in this world has a risk factor attached to it. I like to take my fair share of risks, but I'd rather not play the Three-Card Monte game of bringing a child into this world.

I am aware that not all children execute cats or burn down houses and I am also aware that without having children the human race will become extinct. But I know this world is in no danger of running out of people and so my decision to bring a child into this world is made even easier with the knowledge that the human race does not depend on my seed. If you want to contribute a fresh human life into this world, that's fine with me. It's just not my glass of Bailey's. And to those other people out there who know that being a parent isn't their thing either, I salute you for knowing yourself as well as you do.

And as for that 8-year-old cat executioner, I'd like to see him take a spin on Mr. Toad's Wild Electric Chair Ride. He's only eligible for a three-year turn in a juvenile institution, but I figure since President Bush's cousin is governor of Florida, this would be a feasible option considering the President's execution record in Texas.

Dad, most Americans still don't think I won the election. What can I do get people to like me?

Ever thought of bombing Iraq? I did that when I was president and my approval rating went through the roof.

Wow, thanks Dad. You're the greatest. This is the best thing you've done since you got me the presidency.

And, of course, the ever-so popularly used Internet search engines. Anyone who has had to write a serious research paper in the last five years would think twice, long and hard, before criticizing one of the tools that saved them a countless number of hours manually searching for the materialthey needed.

To criticize some of the greatest things to come out of this era, and call it "pop culture" if one chooses, seems to to be a slap in theface of gratitude. Is the next step to refuse the gratitude rightly deserved by our parents and teachers for their sharing of knowledge and experience?

Signed, Josh Dzielak