We live in a world that too often glorifies traits we would abhor if we saw them in our kids. We look at people who display ruthlessness or cunning or hyper-criticism and think, “So that’s how you become successful.” We can show a strange curiosity for these qualities.
But if someone told us our kids had those traits, we’d recoil in horror and want to blame their character development on a teacher, their peers, or our spouse. Or a video game. I love blaming video games for my kids’ character flaws.
Instead of being fascinated by the harmful habits of others, maybe we should try something different. Maybe we should get bored with them. After all, those poisons are more common than dandelions in the springtime.
Yes, this would change how we read the news. Instead of the morbid fascination that makes clickbait tempting, we could just yawn and say, “Yeah. Whatever.” Hit the “BORING” button and move on.
What should really fascinate us is when someone isn’t drinking the poison, when they show us a life that really works. That’s the kind of intriguing life we’re after.
