Babysitting Versus Bureauschitting

by Robert L. Gisel

 This post turns out to be best on WhoWouldWrite.blogspot.com as it is satire writing just for fun. The tongue in cheek moral of the story is: Thou Shalt Not Babysit Thy Neighbor's Kids.

 It's true that rights have been violated so an appropriate soap box would be RightsFreedomsandRights.blogspot.com. That is, regarding the novel idea of Article 1 that says we are "endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood".

 Equally obvious would be a posting to FavoringLife.blogspot.com as after all this insanity is from a group populated with psychologists and psychiatric dupes, who really do know what is best for the good of all. Too bad if you don't like their interpretation of sane action. Properly, sane means exhibiting the ability to tell right from wrong.

 Babysitting is an American institution. Not having grown up internationally I can't attest to this for the rest of the world, but probably ditto as there are kids underaged everywhere, the only question is as to culture. Babysitting is here to stay.

 Thanks to the remnants of Freedom of Speech and the World Wide Web we sometimes get to hear of the crazier governmental missteps, the latest faux pas happening in Michigan State. A mother, gratuitously helping other mothers with a safe place for their kids to wait for the morning school bus is threatened with the law by a misguided state Department Of Human Services for being so helpful.

 Kids can be cruel? What about mature and old-enough-to-know-better adults? (See Adults Can Be Cruel, coming soon to a theatre near you.)

 Maybe it is only Human to be like that, short sighted and quick to deal out inhumanities to man. I mean, what's a Human Services bureau if in all fairness they don't act Human, exhibiting a command of the full range of personal drama available to Humans. If you get an unconfirmed isolated report of course the Human thing to do is to forthwith shoot the malefactor, who after all has to be guilty as there was a Complaint. Never mind that no adequate data was gathered first on which to make a decision and the order was shoot on sight notwithstanding the other C's: Compassion, Caring, Consideration. This is a learned lesson from the American Soap Operas.

 It is all too easy to do a knee jerk reaction. We pay our Civil Servants to have more composure and common sense. You know, like Servants of the people. Instead, the Kids waiting for the bus at Lisa Snyder's house equals Day Care Center equals Unlicensed equals Criminal. The only thing missing is the SWAT Team enforcement.

 Evidently free babysitting is way too much generosity for the scalpers at the State offices. They have to make a living you know, at other's (AKA We the People) expense.

 My first impression of this story was that the State of Michigan should survey for a new name for this Department. Like Department of Humane Services. In Merriam-Websters humane defines as

1 : marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals

2 : characterized by or tending to broad humanistic culture :humanistic

 In all fairness to our humble Civil Servants, if we correctly define their Hat then they can wear it.

 A bit of sanity emerges, however, as when the Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm hears of this craziness she acts fast to tell Director Ismael Ahmed to personally intervene to get the law changed. Ismael Ahmed? He wouldn't be foreign to the ways of American culture would he be? All distrusting considerations aside, and assuming he is qualified for his post, it is Ahmed's watch, being it is his Department.

 The question is still open. Will Lisa continue to do the friends' thing and look after her neighbor's kids at bus time for the good of all? Will she yield to the oppression of the State and cease the good Samaritan activity? Will the State of Michigan roboticly enforce horse and buggy laws they are unable to change?

 What is your vote?

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