Author Information
THERE ISNO REASONING WITH A FOOL
Yesterday I was enthralled when a friend sent me a poem by Roald Dahl.
It read, ‘So please, oh please, we beg, we pray go throw your TV set away.
And in it’s place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall.’
This same friend once made the decision her children would grow up without television.
Did these parents, I wondered, have a screw loose? Isn’t that a form of child abuse?
I was sure it must be some kind of crime for what would they do with all that time?
Their life would be hell I had to admit without the TV set to babysit.
When I tried to show them they were remiss our conversations went something like this:
“Without TV what will they do all day?” “We’ll give them instruments and let them play.”
“But what if being musicians is not their thing?” “We’ll give them the lyrics and let them sing.”
But what if they can’t sing, now there’s a flaw.” “We’ll give them pencils and let them draw.”
“But what if with drawing they can’t acquaint?” “We’ll give them brushes and let them paint.”
“But if their paintings aren’t up to speed?” “We’ll give them books and let them read.”
As you can see (and perhaps I’m being cruel) there’s is no reasoning with a fool!
Now their children are grown and to my surprise they’ve grown up kind, considerate, and wise.
Perhaps it was my thinking that was out of sync because they taught their children not only how to think
But how to create and dream and see; and they did all this without TV.
As I look back perhaps I wasn’t too cruel for there was no reasoning with this fool!
Ah but we live in a more modern time so let me amend Mr. Dahl’s little rhyme
‘So please, oh please, we beg we pray go throw your TV set away.’
And in it’s place buy a Kindle or a Nook for they can hold over 3000 books!
And in place of your TV, take heart; they’ll be plenty of room for your children’s art.
