"Editing Imagination"

When I was a little boy I saw the Broadway play of "Peter Pan" on television; Mary Martin was the lead, and she was terrific. I sat in front of our set with my sisters gazing at the "flying" with amazement. This was a great exercise in fantasy. As I grew older, I watched many Saturday morning westerns; Roy Rogers, Gene Autrey, the Cisco Kid and Wild Bill Hickok were staples of my morning entertainment. Each story was a morality play; good vs. evil was always the message; and the "good guys" always won. I understood this was only television, as the villains that were slain always showed up on other shows as villains once more. All of my heroes wore six-guns, and all my heroes used them for fighting evil. Oddly, they also only shot the guns out of the hands of the "bad guys", never intending to issue a fatal wound to the evil doer. I remember my "Fanner .50", it was made by Mattel Toys, and it was great. My gun was a replica of a Colt .45 peacemaker, and I spent countless hours shooting imaginary bad guys in endless battles of good vs. evil. I never wanted to go to school and kill my classmates. I didn't bring my toys to school, as it was not permitted to do so; yet, we still played "good guy vs. bad guy" in the school yard and no one was ever harmed. Years later, "Star Wars" was in vogue with American youth, and children were happily dueling with imaginary "laser sword": just like "Luke Skywalker". I'm sure many an imaginary limb was severed in those bouts of fantasy. Kids play, kids use their imagination; that is one of the best parts of being a kid!

Our society seems dedicated to the control of every thought and movement we make today. We are chastised if we use the words that may make someone else uncomfortable. When I grew up, we would use the word Negro when addressing black people, then that became incorrect and now it seems that African-American is the acceptable phraseology; I just like the term AMERICAN, it can apply to all of us! We are being told what to eat; no high fat, no processed sugar, don't eat too much meat; we are even trying to legislate people into the government's idea of fitness. Now we have a seven year old boy who is facing an in-school suspension for "pointing his finger" in the shape of a gun. I find this to be ridiculous; censoring imagination and punishment for child's play. If that had been the case when I was growing up, nobody between the ages of five and ten would have been in class! Wyatt Earp and Matt Dillon would have to be thrown off television if we continue to follow this ridiculous premise. We would be better served in the editing of some musical lyrics that call for the "killing of cops" than worrying about the imagination of a seven year old boy!

I thank God for Roy Rogers; he showed me what it meant to be a "good guy"; even though he shot a gun! Guys like Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey taught a whole generation what it meant to stand up for what is right, and help those in need. I pulled many an imaginary gun on "bad guys" in an attempt to mirror those values expressed by my Saturday morning heroes. Let's forget about suspending those seven year old kids, and concentrate on protecting their right to be children so they may be able to use their gift of imagination.