First, Baby Einstein...Now This!

I'm really glad my kids are not toddlers or pre-teens or 'tweens or any of that other stuff that leads parents to believe that they have sired the next coming of...well, somebody extra special. Disney sold all of you a load of crap with the "Baby genius" stuff, and other companies have been preying on parental pride as well. My child be average? How DARE you intimate such a thing! Of course, Disney had to ultimately offer money back because its claims were not scientifically justified by the latest generation of uber-babies.
Television gave us proof that we, as a nation, are not even as smart as our own fifth-graders (whose parents must be very proud as well as smart to have such prodigies. Now, though, a pall has been cast over our national psyche: Fox Television has just canceled the highly hyped "Our Little Genius," depriving doting parents nationwide the opportunity to show just how brilliant their offspring could be. Mind you, the show was scheduled to premiere next Wednesday following "American Idol (so you know EVERYONE would be watching...feel those buttons popping now!) Instead, we will be treated to the 450th episode written about America's All-American average family: the Simpsons. The reason for such an abrupt change? Too MANY genius children vying for a spot? Too many parents milling about like crowds at a Wal-Mart on Black Friday? nope.
It seems that the producer had uncertainties about "how some of the information was relayed to contestants during pre-production." There were also more than hints or allegations about which contestant was given what information when...as well as taping multiple endings of the show just in case the little genius "forgot" the answer. Sounds a little bit like the demise of"The $64,000 Question" to me; and if you don't get the reference, it's because you are 'way too young.
So, there you have it...we've been played for suckers again, and the truth is that all we can hope for is that our young people have productive careers, happy relationships, a moral compass of note, and an affinity for the earth, its creatures and the environment around them.
After all, those fifth-graders will be in charge before we know it. I just hope they spend little to no time bashing each other as idiots because of a political affiliation while "Rome burns."