I didn't before I had a daughter. I thought that they were the most boring nonsense on television. But now that I have been forced to actually sit down and watch, I wait for some of them as eagerly as my two year old does. (Hey, do I mock YOUR hobbies?)
There is something about these shows. They are warm, simple, gentle and kind. The characters are soft and loving. The situations they find themselves in are about as tense as being scolded for breaking a rule at home. And even that gets resolved in a minute or two. The world they portray is the one parents wished they could always provide for their children.
It would be interesting to see some enterprizing producer come up with a new kind of kid's show. Can you imagine Cheney and Bush as a sort of Bert and Ernie type duo on Sesame Street? I can actually. In some ways they already are, only some evil clone version. Come to think of it, isn't Cheney kind of bald like Bert is? And Bush is just as simple as Ernie is many times. "Gee Dick, how come Uncle Tony Blair doesn't come and play with us anymore?" Of course Dick would have some exasperated response.
I can picture Kim Jong Il as a evil little Elmo. He seems to be childlike enough. Nuke Me Elmo wouldn't seem to be a toy that would be in great demand for Christmas time though. Oops, better not say that too loudly. Some of the extreme RW would probably think it was fabulous. But only if it came with a play backdrop of Iran or Mecca to drop Elmo's bombs on.
Certainly the people that spill the blood for causes that even they know deep down are fruitless and soul destroying could gain a lot from watching kid's shows. But Osama Bin Laden while tall doesn't seem to have much in common with the simple decency of Big Bird and I don't think that Hezbollah, Hamas and Israel are going to get together anytime soon to watch episodes of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood on how to share and get along. They would probably just get into an argument who owned the Museum Go Round first. Even wise King Friday couldn't get past that mess, and Daniel Tiger would probably end up with his poor little head twisted off. (X the Owl, what sort of name is that anyway? Can't see him being Jewish or Muslim. Maybe they could all just hate him and leave each other alone, thereby bringing peace to the troubled Neighborhood Of Make Believe.)
