It doesn’t feel that amazing when I view this ‘bottom up’. From this perspective all ‘media’ (TV, radio, etc.) is simply gossip. Gossip has an overwhelming influence on how individuals see the world. Naturally I’m viewing the meaning of gossip ‘bottom up’ as well. As social animals we depend on each other, the back and forth, for ‘understanding’ our reality. More often than not this amounts to nothing more than ‘the blind leading the blind’. So while it may not be amazing that people believe what they see on TV, the ‘bigger picture’ never ceases to amaze me.

That was a good point you noticed about opening up our home to the world. Like you said its the opposite of protectiveness.

This shows how Pedro couldn’t help but equate his situation with the ‘protective’ fiction edited into our show. One of the great ironies for me is that our family is actually just the opposite, ‘protective-wise’. It is fascinating how easily we see the world through the mental lens of how we think it is (or wish it were). No wonder misunderstanding between people occurs so often.

I sure know people on TV make their own path to plant a message of a show, but sure wasn’t with a bad intention.

I think they wanted people viewing to understand how important is for a child to build her own opinion and not react always react the same way to other people opinion.

I used to be pretty closed myself. I’m 18 at the moment, but for years I lived in a normal society, but always restrained by my parents protection. It sure made me loose great things in life, like first love, an ability to make friends, be part of a solid group of friends of MY age that last for life. The lack of friends made me get mocked and for that reason i always tried to copy other people’s thoughs and agree with them just to feel a part of that world.

Fortunely i could get out of that circle. I never had any close relationship to a girl before, but I was kinda forced to meet one on a snowtrip (forced as in: her parents were friends to mine, but i didn’t know she existed). I was like around 14 that time. So with her, I experienced the most wonderful things, like feelings that were never in my soul, feelings that never showed up due to the consequences of the restraining protection of my mother and father. After that I kept talking with her after the snowtrip, we lived like 20 minutes by car, apart. I started being more open and built up a very strong personality, my true self. I can say I changed alot of people ever since, even those i was mocked by at school, now have tremendous respect and appreciation for me. Some of them are now my best friends. And when around 14 I had only like only 2 friends my age, now i have much more than that. I learned the ability to communicate and change people. I openly can help blind people cross the street and yet make a good conversation out of it, in that very tiny little bit of contact and totally out of the eye subject.

Remember that “any act that we make today, has a consequence that will be there for the rest of our lives”. As such, if a child gets restrained in a way that it stops them from making friends is something that isn’t good for that kid’s future. A personality, a life, a future are build upon society, and that’s how they should be built, because society are your family, your friends, society is basicly the world.

Of course, society is also economy and there are greed, mean people, but having a normal life, with traditional teachings and education, a person learns to indentify them by the judge of character, the hability I have now to choose my own friends, and, until now, i haven’t made any bad choise in that area.

You can say that also mistakes also make us learn. And learning is a process that should be forever connected with the person, for the rest of their lives.

I know, Carl, that you travelled the world and met alot of people, mean. But I’m sure that there were also nice people, love and caring, and that is my world. In my world there aren’t any murderers, aren’t any burdlers, aren’t any mean people to torment me, because I know the dangers of the outside world and I avoid them, but I can always keep my freedom.

You may think, that until this part of the text, my family is greatly appart from yours. But it’s not. My parents were exactly like you and Leslie are. Very protective persons, that, if it was up to them, we’d live closed inside. But me and my sister got away, barely. I got away also with the help of my sister pushing by my parents so that I have a little bit of more freedom.

But, my brother didn’t escape. My brother is the oldest child, 26 years old and my sister is 24. He, for being so protected, has a depressing lifestyle. He never had a girlfriend and barely has any friends (I can count them with one single hand). He’s afraid of talking to women, and, by this rate, I’m afraid he’ll end up as a 40 year old virgin and lonely person. Of course, my parents WOKE UP a couple of years ago and are trying to help him, by any means, to bloom and spread his wings. He’s slowly changing. He’s going out more often, meeting new people, but it gets more depressing for him to face reality. But I know girls want to date him because he’s like blue eyes and blond hair and very sweet person, but he’s afraid to make the move and now his life is FOREVER affected by that reason.

And yet, of having so much to care about, world economy is the least of our problems.

I hope you understand my point of view. I sure didn’t see the world like you saw, but my world is wonderful and feeling free is the most joyful feeling I could ever have and yet, I still live with my parents.

With best wishes for all the family,
Pedro.

With the economy going down the tubes, I believe you will see more extended families living together, much the way most of the rest of the world already lives . . parents, grandparents and children living in one home.

I’m glad to hear Vickie is coming around.