Letters to the Editor
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Wow, we all need to take a breath here...
Was Alec Baldwin's language rude and over the top, particularly directed at his daughter? Yes. Could he have made his point (that he was upset at his daughter for standing him up) without using invective? Sure. Is it really terrible that we're being made privy to the inner workings of a highly contested divorce and its effect on the family members? Why yes, it is.
That's about all we really know here, all the judgements we may legitimately make about this situation. If all of us were required to be utterly perfect parents in order to enjoy the good graces of society, then I suppose we'd all end up outcasts. We love our kids and invest so much in them that it is only natural that they have the power to incite amazing acts of love and drive us to exasperation and beyond. I've been a parent less than two years and I'll admit that not everything I've done as a parent comes straight out of the "What to Expect..." parenting manuals.
Are verbally abusive environments bad for kids? Sure. Do some kids survive them and become good people? Yeah. Others go on to perpetuate the injuries done to them. It's really hard to pass judgement on the entirety of a parent's abilities based on one incident, deliberately chosen, BTW, for leverage in a court case. I am sure if my darkest moment as a mother was broadcast over all the media outlets in the world, people would think I was a terrible mother. In fact, however, I am a pretty good mother.
Parenting is tough, and true, some parents probably should be a little firmer with their kids. I am a big advocate of actual discipline. But the thing is, discipline is truly more on the part of the parent than the child. To create a child who respects boundaries requires the parent to exercise the discipline to SET clear boundaries, CONSISTENTLY enforce them, and effectively APPLY consequences for violation of them. It takes a lot of energy and time and thought.
I think parents today fail not because they are trying to be "friends" with their kids as much as they are simply too lazy to undertake the hard task of child discipline. And even in the instances where parents ARE disciplined in their approach to child-rearing, it's no guarantee that they won't have their own "Little Pig" moment sometime when they are frustrated and tired and not thinking clearly.
I think the Baldwin-Basingers as a whole are a sad and pathetic bunch. And the only thing that is sadder and more pathetic is how we as the American public feel compelled to make their personal family drama about us.