Mustaches and Mustangs (Or you have to be THIS old to read this post)

This Passover weekend, like many other Jews out there, I traveled to a family member's house to spend some good 'ol quality time with my family. I had a ton of matzah, fought with my cousins, and had a good time over all.

But I left with this memory in mind:


My uncle was talking to my twenty-one year old cousin about a new HBO show. He described the main plot as a sort of fantasy/middle ages one, with executions, politics, and liberal amounts of blood. "Game of Thrones" I chimed in, not thinking. He replied in the affirmative, and went on to describe some other aspects of the show, namely the graphic nudity and "adult content". He concluded with the thought that this show was not for me.

I had already watched two episodes, and I rather like the show. And it goes beyond the "adult content" that teenagers so desperately crave (if pop culture is to be believed). It actually has a great story which I follow with interest.

This brought up a question to me of maturity and parenting. I'll start with the former.


When am I mature enough to watch such a program? On my eighteenth birthday, is it suddenly okay to see breasts on television, while the day before it would have been acid to my young, innocent, naive eyes? I don't see a standard for maturity. There are definitely some adults that I'm more mature than. And there are definitely people younger than me who are more mature than me. For this reason, I don't think anyone should be sorted into maturity groups by how long you've lived.


My second, and a little odder question, was about parenting skills in general. Isn't the goal of child-rearing to make a fine little product, prepare them for the world, and ship them off to improve the world somehow? By restricting my rights to watch these programs, they aren't preparing me for the real world, and as such (if I didn't do it on my own at this age) I might have been overwhelmed by the possibilities. The world is full of rape, murder, and horrible things, and closing my eyes to them won't make them go away. It will just make me more susceptible to them.

Am I saying show your six year old graphic footage of rape? Of course not. But I am saying that age has very little to do with maturity, and just because I am an adolescent doesn't mean I can't handle it.

Thanks for reading and considering:
-J. Valett.

An Introduction

Hello Blogosphere!
Who am I?
...does it matter?

I'm just here to vent some of my opinions about the issues of the days, and maybe throw a few stories in there for good will. I'll try to upload a rant/sermon/opinion at least once a week, but I don't have a LOT of ideas, so just email me at SammyJB17@gmail.com if you have anything you'd like me to talk about.

Happy Hunting!