shahreh-farangeh, az hameh-rangeh

Those of us who spent whole or part of our childhood in Iran, may remember simpler and perhaps more innocent upbringing, not withstanding the occasional or frequent anti-Semitic incidents.

There was a time that "Shahre Farang" was the highlight of the summer-day entertainment. Then came cinema, TV, Luna Park, Amjadieh, Shemran, Ghasre' Yakh, etc., and it was all somehow fun and innocent, at least it appears that way.

Our kids and teens are exposed to a whole new set of values now. The values that today's TV, media and internet promote are drastically different than what it used to be. The simple "Tom and Jerry" cartoon has been replaced with the 4-hour Sunday morning brainwashing bonanza, and cute family in the "Little House on the Prairie" (Khaneye' Koochak) has been replaced with so-called families with same-sex so-called parents, promoting alternative life styles with different sizes and shades of closets to come out of.

It is known even among American Jews that we Persian Jewish Parents are superbly protective of and concerned about our kids and their future. So, at the risk of sounding old-fashioned and backward (omol), the following question can be posed: "Do we really know what kind of damage we are causing our kids by letting them loose in front of TV and video?” See The Truth about TV for some possible answers.