All In The Family

A wise man, (or should I say a wise-guy), once said that family-life teaches you loyalty, patience, understanding, perseverance, and a lot of other things you wouldn’t need if you had stayed single. It’s a sad commentary, isn’t it, that family life so often bears the brunt of bad jokes, callous cliches and downright nasty narratives? From holiday horrors to lazy husbands — nagging wives to meddling mother-in laws — we’ve heard them all — over and over again. And when these bothersome bromides concern our children, they take on a particularly troubling tone. Consider this real-life incident:

A woman reported that she pulled into a self-service gas station and began filling her tank. While she was waiting, she noticed a screen on the pump that displays fueling instructions, advertising, and clever quotes to help the motorist pass the time while gassing up. After the initial instructions and a pitch for a discount oil change, she said she saw a very disturbing message scroll across…