The father of some teenage children had the family rule
that they could not attend PG-13 or R rated movies. His
three teens wanted to see a particular popular movie that
was playing at local theaters. It was rated PG-13 or R. The
teens interviewed friends and even some members of their
family's church to find out what was offensive in the movie.
The teens made a list of pros and cons about the movie to
use to convince their dad that they should be allowed to see
it.
The con's were that it contained ONLY 3 swear words, the
ONLY violence was a building exploding (and you see that on
TV all the time they said), and you actually did not "see"
the couple in the movie having sex - it was just implied
sex, off camera.
The pros were that it was a popular movie - a blockbuster.
Everyone was seeing it. If the teens saw the movie then they
would not feel left out when their friends discussed it. The
movie contained a good story and plot. It had some great
adventure and suspense in it. There were some fantastic
special effects in this movie. The movie's stars were some
of the most talented actors in Hollywood. It probably would
be nominated for several awards. Many of the members of
their Christian church had even seen the movie and said it
wasn't "very bad".
Therefore, since there were more pros than cons the teens
said they were asking their father to reconsider his
position on just this ONE movie and let them have permission
to go see it.
The father looked at the list and thought for a few minutes.
He said he could tell his children had spent some time and
thought on this request. He asked if he could have a day to
think about it before making his decision. The teens were
thrilled thinking; "Now we've got him! Our argument is too
good! Dad can't turn us down!" So, they happily agreed to
let him have a day to think about their request.
The next evening the father called in his three teenagers,
who were smiling smugly, into the living room. There on the
coffee table he had a plate of brownies. The teens were
puzzled. The father told his children he had thought about
their request and had decided that if they would eat a
brownie then he would let them go to the movie. But just
like the movie, the brownies had pros and cons.
The pros were that they were made with the finest chocolate
and other good ingredients. They had the added special
effect of yummy walnuts in them. The brownies were moist and
fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top. He had made
these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe. And
best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand
of their own father.
The brownies only had one con. He had included a little bit
of a special ingredient. The brownies also contained just a
little bit of dog poop. But he had mixed the dough well -
they probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop
and he had baked it at 350 degrees so any bacteria or germs
from the dog poop had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if
any of his children could stand to eat the brownies which
included just a "little bit of crap" and not be affected by
it, then he knew they would also be able to see the movie
with "just a little bit of smut" and not be affected. Of
course, none of the teens would eat the brownies and the
smug smiles had left their faces. Only Dad was smiling
smugly as they left the room. Now when his teenagers asked
permission to do something he is opposed to the father just
asks, "Would you like me to whip up a batch of my special
brownies?"
