I'm not talking war abroad or terrorism threats at home. No, what I'm talking about are things in the news that make the news because they are, quite frankly, so out of whack that one has to wonder, indeed, what's happening to this world.
Recently, I read that somebody in Atlanta built a school with no playground, because, you see, there's no time for recess in the modern school curriculum. Ditto for gym class, art class and music class, because, it seems, we're all in a more competitive world even in kindergarten and our kids must spend more time on "cognitive development'' and less time on using their imaginations or exercising their bodies.
These are the same kids, of course, who are bookending that "cognitive development'' with schedules that have them on the go before school and after school, all of it kept in check by their very own Palm Pilots.
This sad tale came on the heels of Halloween, with its usual glut of stories about people who want it banned. Conservative Christians don't like it because it promotes witchcraft. And practicing witches don't like it because it promotes bad stereotypes of, well, practicing witches. Of course, soon it will be Christmas, with its yearly debate about public displays of mangers in town squares. Happy holidays! Then there was the item about the school in Texas where kids were allowed to cross-dress with boys attired like girls and vice versa one day out of the year as part of some long-standing homecoming tradition. OK, whatever, but the whole thing came to an end thanks to a mom who was convinced this was part of some kind of homosexual agenda. "It's like experimenting with drugs,'' she said in an Associated Press report.
Never mind that a lot of gays never cross-dress, or that Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams all managed to remain straight after donning drag for "Some Like It Hot,'' "Tootsie'' and "Mrs. Doubtfire,'' respectively.
I would let it go at that, and allow that Texas mother her concerns, however warranted or unwarranted they might be. And I can understand those who read about some gender-bending school tradition, ponder if this is a good thing or a bad thing, and say, "I just don't know what's happening ...'' But here's the punchline: Cross-dressing was replaced by something called "Camo Day,'' in which the youngsters were encouraged to wear camouflage instead.
That's camouflage as in Army. As in guns. As in five years after Columbine. As in your son or daughter facing suspension for using the common expression, "I could kill you.'' Really, I just don't get it sometimes.
And yes, there are days when I just don't know what's happening to this world.
Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer.
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