You heard it when you were young.
Chainsaw heard it as well.
Your mother gently reminding you:
“Don’t sit so close to the television.”
It was a common chant, echoing from the kitchen into the living room.
But it wasn’t the only daily drone mothers seemed to collectively employ in an effort to restrain the imaginary growth and expressions of an otherwise healthy mind.
Tell me you never heard these:
Don’t run with those scissors!
Stand still while I’m talking to you!
Don’t cross your eyes — they’ll stay that way!
If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?
Finish your food! Children in (China, Africa, India… wherever) wish they had what you’re leaving on that plate!
Do what I say, not what you think I do!
But Chainsaw seemed to ignore these warnings.
Science believed sitting too close to the television would damage your vision.
Yet only the most introspective might suspect the long-term physiological alteration that could be attributed to Chainsaw’s further development.
So what is the lesson?
Chainsaw would say:
“Let the children get as close as they want…
to immerse themselves in the fantasy they enjoy.”