LMNOP

Adults of the world, let's be honest: we're always sighing and wringing our hands and complaining about how kids today have to grow up so fast, but we are totally ignoring the truth.  "Why can't we just let kids be kids?"  we ask.  "Whatever happened to childhood?"

Um, hello--we stole it from them.  Let's be honest: today's adults act like 10-year-olds.  We are completely reverting to childhood, and it's affecting every aspect of society.  Take, for example, Joe Lieberman. After losing the Connecticut Democratic primary in August, he decided to stay in the general election by running as an Independent.  This is more or less the exact same strategy employed by Sister Bear in the Berenstain Bear's No Girls Allowed; after Brother Bear built a clubhouse and said Sister couldn't come in, she decided to go ahead and build her own, cooler clubhouse instead.

This trend's many manifestations include the preponderance of adult kickball leagues, "cool" offices, and general discussions (my own included) of our nation's obsession with sentimentalizing things that happened three days ago.  (Please note that I openly admit to being one of the worst offenders in this category.)  And let's not forget the grups. It all points to the overwhelming conclusion that we're all turning into 10-year-olds--except, of course, for the actual 10-year-olds, who are busy joining gangs and buying suggestive T-shirts.  Have today's kids even heard of the Berenstain Bears?  Probably not, but they do all have cell phones and a favorite latte.

I worry about how this will play out if I ever have kids of my own.  I can imagine the typical dinner conversation as my five-year old briefs us on the newest sexual slang, my preteen talks about how Nicorette has made it so much easier to quit smoking this time around, and I dish out the green beans and tell everyone about how Mommy won her kickball game today.