"You Might Want to Change the Channel"

Typically, I do not informally "blog" on this site but something from last night is still bugging me a little. After a long day that started early and ended late I went with my girlfriend to grab a bite to eat at a resteraunt downtown. As we sat down I just happened to be sandwhiched by a friend of mine from college at one table and on the other side were two young boys (with their mom of course) who I know from volunteering at Macdonough School. Well, halfway through the meal we noticed that one of the boys was glued to the tv screen watching footage on one of the 24 hour news channels of what appeared to be a lifeless and bloodied Moammar Gadhafi. I was able to find a waitress pretty quickly and we got the channel turned to the (unfortunately Yankee-less) world series and life went on. But it did make me question the need to run footage like that especially given the time of the evening (approximating 8PM). Understanding the significance of the event that just took place, what is the value versus the impact it could have on the countless number of young children who either knowingly or unknowingly were subjected to these pretty gruesome images. Is that even a consideration as a show like this and other news shows are being produced? When we talk about being an asset builder and particuarly an intentional one, it is about being aware of your surroundings and trying to always model the right behavior. That also continue on to mean modeling the right behavior even if you might not think or know a young person is around. Could it have been as simple as someone asking for the channel to be changed just because a child might walk in and see it let alone already be staring at it?

It's really import for communities to do really great and really big things for young people. Funding programs, building schools and the like are huge cornerstones to a community's valuation of children. But we shouldn't discount the small everyday ways we can make a difference. Often in our presentations we talk about the importance of just saying "hi" to a teen if you see them on the street and how just that simple recognition of them can really make an impact. Apparently changing the channel can too... 

This weekend, spend some time be extra mindful of your behavior and surroundings. Try to catching things you are doing or that are happening around you and challenge yourself to be extra vigiliant at being a role model. Maybe you'll catch something, maybe you wont, but you can say you spent the weekend being an asset builder and to me that means a lot.

Thanks for all you do and have a great weekend.