To hell with political correctness

I am a first-born. By nature I am a people pleaser. I want people to like me. So I tend to not rock the boat or do and say things that might make people mad. (My husband excluded. That I don't seem to have a problem with.)

But tonight, I'm rocking, shaking, and probably mad making. On the way to the gym a few hours ago, I turned on the radio and was listening to "Your Time with Kim Iverson." The topic of conversation was "Can you turn a booty call into a boyfriend?"

Seriously?

I listened to a few callers who talked about the trials and tribulations of trying to go from "in it only for the 'goodies'" to true love. Kim's sidekick shared her experience with a married man.

Seriously, seriously?

Not to sound old fashioned or prudish, but I'm beginning to see why "to hell in a handbasket" is such a popular phrase. I don't want my daughter hearing this kind of garbage (she wasn't in the car). I've seen Facebook pages of some of the kids her age (Annie doesn't have one) and think "Do your parents know that you are a member of the 'I Have Also Slept with Tiger Woods' group and are they OK with that?!"

And to be fair, some of these same kids are members of Facebook groups like "Above the Influence" and "Jesus is my Savior and I'm not Ashamed." It just screams to me that our kids need our influence and involvement in their lives. Not our lectures, but our willingness to have conversations about why booty calls do not equal love and why they should respect themselves enough to not go giving precious pieces of themselves away in the name of popularity or instant gratification.

I have to really think about the part I play in the perpetuation of all this. I regularly tune in to shows like Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy where affairs are the expected natural order of things. The difference, I know, is that I am an adult. I have a fully informed conscience. I can make value judgements on things I see on TV based on the convictions I have in real life.

We owe it to our kids to help them form those value judgements based on the benefit of our experiences where they may not have them yet. And turning off garbage like Kim Iverson is a good start.

So there, I said what was on my mind. It's not as eloquent as I'd like -- I wanted to get it down and out there before I chickened out. It's probably not politically correct. Likely not popular. Maybe I'll even lose a few followers in the process (Aaack! I hope not!).

But sometimes, even us people-pleasing first borns have to say "enough is enough."