The Modern Amish

So Lynne Spears’s parenting book has been put on hold.  Wow!  What a surprise!  Almost as surprising as thinking anyone greenlighted this idea.  And based on the way many teenage girls are dressing & acting right now, I suspect whatever she’s doing is already in play with a lot of parents.  As far as bad ideas go, this is right up there with New Coke & Cop Rock, but well below building a cruise ship without enough lifeboats for everyone on board, or trying to invade Russia in winter.

But lest we scorn too much, let’s think of all the joy that some bad ideas bring us.  For example, from my youth, I have a fond memory of my backdoor neighbor attempting to cut through the electrical cord of a running box fan with a bare metal pair of safety scissors.  Bad idea?  Of course it was.  But even though he only partially accomplished his goal of cutting through the cord, he was a huge success in the comedy department.    

And bad ideas that originate with someone else help us personally.  Think back to when you saw William Hung sing ‘She Bangs’ on the American Idol auditions (and try to forget every other time you ever saw him).  It was painfully hilarious.  You might have laughed, or cried, or covered your ears.  But just about everybody who saw it deep down inside had the same thought.  ‘Thank God I’m not that guy.’  And you felt a little better about being you.  Carl Lewis butchering the national anthem, Robert DeNiro agreeing to be in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Jimmy ‘The Greek’ discussing genetics.  These incidents can be hilarious, they can be painful to watch, but they always remind us we’re all human.  And being human means you mess up every once in a while.  No matter who you are.

So the next time you see or become aware of a friend about to do something really stupid, do your best to stop them, talk them out of it, whatever.  That’s what friends are for.  But if they just won’t listen to reason, make sure you have the camera ready.  It just might be good for you.