Sesame Alley
During a rather "interesting" conversation with my mother about politics in public education, the topic of Sesame Street came up. We both agreed that in the past ten years, the CTW has taken their political correctness a bit too far (Near! Far!), but then she said something that surprised me:
"Even in their early days, I didn’t like their attitude about inner city life."
Now, this is my Mom we’re talking about. My semi-liberal, pro-life Mom, who practically embodies the "live and let live" approach to life. I asked for an example, but she couldn’t give me one. The best she could offer was the people on Sesame Street who seem unnaturally satisfied with life in the concrete jungle.
A couple minutes later, I found the perfect example of what’s wrong with Sesame Street: Oscar the Grouch. Think about it:
- He lives in housing that is obviously not up to code.
- The garbage in his domicile would get him cited by any competent health inspector.
- His hostile approach to his neighbors borders on threatening.
- All this drives down property values.
Worst of all:
- He has no desire to be a good neighbor, or aspirations to improve his situation.
- None of his neighbors will turn him in to city officials.
These are not things I would want my kids to learn. That is, if I had any kids.
I wonder if that Oscar the Grouch thing is intentional. My guess is that it’s not. I think many people are not “satisfied” with inner city life, but have never known anything different. That’s just life to them.
I can’t speak as to their intentions; Oscar the Grouch is simply a symptom of a deeper problem.