After seeing the movie Thirteen this weekend, i can't decide whether people who have kids now-a-days should be praised or arrested. The combination of adolescent peer pressure and a society inundated with sex, drugs and violence can have devastating results. This movie shows how a young girl's life is turned upside down when she befriends the most popular girl in school to increase her social status and gets caught up in a pattern of self destruction.
I think it would probably be best if i never have children. I have no idea on how to guide a child on a path to a good life. I think my lack of exposure to drugs and violence is more due to dumb luck rather than personal integrity. How can you tell someone you understand what they're faced with when you've never been in that position yourself?
I'm sure the movie is an exaggeration of what kids face today; but in a few years who knows what will be out there. It succeeded in shocking me. It just makes me more grateful that i got to where i am today with a minimum of distractions.
Posted by Matthew at March 29, 2004 08:50 PMI haven't seen the film - because I'm afraid to. My daughter just turned 15 and, based on some of the stories and tangental evidence, the movie is probably closer to reality than any of us care to believe. Or, as she would say, "Whatever."
Posted by: Jack at March 30, 2004 07:39 PM