Reasons to Be Thankful, Thoughtful

By Rick Pearcey

Thankfulness and thoughtfulness go hand in hand, and this Thanksgiving season is no exception.

* $50,000 Screenwriter Alert: First-time screenwriters may want to take a look at MovieGuide, which is urging writers to submit "screenplays for the $50,000 Kairos prizes awarded by the John Templeton Foundation and MOVIEGUIDE(R).

"Winners will be announced at the 15th Annual MOVIEGUIDE(R) Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry on February 20 in Beverly Hills." Additional information is available at MovieGuide.

* Spielberg, TV, Kids: "I'm a parent who is very concerned" -- "Filmmaker Steven Spielberg recently addressed the International Emmys board of directors in Los Angeles," writes Cal Thomas.

The filmmaker "urged TV networks to be mindful of what they show on the air because of the possible effects on children. Mr. Spielberg said programs like 'CSI' and 'Heroes' were too gruesome. 'Today we are needing to be as responsible as we can possibly be, not just thinking of our own children but our friends' and neighbors' children,' Mr. Spielberg said.

"He decried on-air promotions for television shows like 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' that shows 'blood and people being dissected.' He also said that when his favorite TV show of the new season, NBC's 'Heroes,' showed someone cut in half in the 9 p.m. hour, he sent his younger children out of the room. 'I'm a parent who is very concerned,' Mr. Spielberg said."

Comment: We who are "very concerned" parents should not be satisfied with simply controlling TV viewing inside the home. That's a tactic but not a strategy.

Go to the sources of the toxic culture (of which Hollywood is one). Replace bad water with good water kids can drink. For that matter, replace bad water with water fit for human beings who happen to be grown-ups. For more on Cal Thomas's column, go here.

* Discriminate and Live: In an age of terror, it pays to know the good side of "discrimination," says Mona Charen. "We are so robotic in America whenever the word "discrimination" is used that we shut down thought and all genuflect in the direction of whoever is complaining. But the proper question is not whether it is discrimination but whether it is justified."

"The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it" -- Proverbs 27:12 (ESV). Mona Charen's column appears here.

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Rick Pearcey is editor & publisher of The Pearcey Report.