Mr. Decker’s Blog

I recently rented a video disc to watch with my kids… They all wanted to see “Flushed Away” and so we brought it home. I am not going to critique the film… it was fine. What struck me though, was the non-stop action which paced the film. It was as if a collision or a slap, a crash or a splash was occuring every few seconds.
I thought about the quick scene changes, and the flashing imagery that flew across the screen… and I realized… it is just another symptom of our society. Everything is instant - and if it isn’t - no one wants to wait for it. It’s as if ‘quiet,’ and ‘tranquil’ are forgotten notions… If it isn’t blowing up - it isn’t interesting, one would guess.
Well, I thought back to my own childhood - and realized how different things were ‘way back then. There were no cell phones, no video games and no Nickelodeon channels. The Red Sox were on the radio… not NESN. We used to read books alot… and played out of doors. For hours… inventing, imagining, pretending - exercising.  Ah, well… who needs to hear me go on about all of that? I risk sounding… I’ll say it - old. But I am sure that God made us for much more than most of us experience at the current altar of entertainment. We miss ‘ourselves’ and our Creator when we cease to be personally creative. We do the prescribed as handed to us on a disc and never venture beyond it’s perimeter.
So, I decided to try an experiment after being ‘flushed.’ As I tucked my girls into bed that night, I had them TRY their imaginations. I asked them to picture a place in their minds - and to go there. Anywhere was possible… My 9 year old went first. She described a desert at sunset, complete with tumbleweeds and cactus. I listened to her tell of the sights, sounds and smells.
“Your turn,” I said to my 7 year old when her sister had finished her journey. “What do you see?” With eyes shut tight she paused and said, “I see black, squiggly lines.” There you have it. Turn on the Disney Channel.