“Saying and doing are two different things,” was the admonishment that ltl’4:10 used to get when he made a promise and didn’t follow though on it. Making promises one can’t or doesn’t even intend to keep is a good bellwether to discover what kind of person a man or woman is. It boils down to the choices we make, whether or not we do what we say.

It’s not a matter of good verses evil, the world is too complex for that kind of childishness. Right and wrong are always going to be a matter of perspective, what is ‘good’ for you might be ‘bad’ for others, you may of wished that your actions would produce a ‘good’ result, but you may have been misled, or you may have been misinterpreted, and suddenly all the intentions in the world won’t undo the ‘evil’ you have wrought. The best anyone can do is to carefully weigh their options and hope that they striking a balance in their own lives between acting in benefit of the self, and in the benefit of others.

Gamers didn’t learn these lessons from their games. Like almost everyone else in the world, they learned it from their parents, their teachers, their community leaders and their televisions. It is experience that teaches that one’s actions always have consequences, and to avoid negative ones proper choices need to be made. It’s not about choosing the Light Side or the Dark Side, it’s about being able to look at the side of you that looks back from the mirror.

So what does it say when one of society’s self-appointed Defenders Of The Children (albeit elected to office) gets exposed as a blatant hypocrite by saying one thing and doing another:

Via the Hartford Current online:

WASHINGTON — It has become a holiday ritual: Joe Lieberman and family-research officials hold a well-attended press conference to decry the impact on children of excessive video game sex and violence.

And, again in 2006, Lieberman indulged in another yearly ritual: taking campaign money from the entertainment industry.

An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group, found that the Connecticut Democrat, who won re-election last month as an independent, received about $73,000 from a variety of industry sources over the past two years.

Among the donors were Linda McMahon, chief executive officer of Stamford-based WWE Entertainment.

[…]

WWE is well known for its video games and television shows. Its games are usually rated “T,” meaning the content is considered appropriate for ages 13 and up.

Yes, Joe Lieberman, one of the infamous Three Scolds is saying one thing (the aforementioned scolding) and doing another (blithely taking money from those whom he promised to Protect the Children from).

I know what you are thinking, “OMG Mr. 4:10, a hypocritical politician! That never, ever, ever happens! Ever!” Of course I know that they can’t all be trusted. A great many of them take the power imbued to them by the will of the people and use it to tell us how to live our lives instead of representing us in the halls of power or providing leadership by example by doing what they say and saying what they mean. If you think that video games, of all things, are the most serious threat to the county right now, DON’T go taking money from the people who help make them! I can respect your wrongheaded point of view, because who am I to tell you how to think, but you can’t have it both ways. Ltl’ Joe comes into the living room with a face full of chocolate frosting and says he hates cake! Will he learn a lesson? Can he?

So why speak out now, or at all? Why dare to take on ‘City Hall’ and point the finger of shame at those who would pretend to be our betters? Because they’re playing in my yard now. My hobby is not responsible for the world’s ills. Those who say that it is had better be ready to actually do something about it, or/and be prepared to be responded to in kind.

This is my stop.

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Back of the Bus is © 2006 by Seth “4:10” Robison, used with exclusive permission by gamertransit.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.