We're doomed.

Ever spend too much money? I do it all the time, lol. Boy am I glad that I'm still single in the sense that if I screw up my money, I'm not totally fubared as I have very few obligations.

I just am pretty thankful for the fact that I can feel the pain of spending too much money on trifles and not really get into any trouble about it.

I managed to pick up a RTS game that is changing and setting the standards for the genre to come: Battle for Middle Earth. Last copy, half price at $20 (more like 1/3 price, I think) and good, good stuff.

I managed to finally get around to picking up a new optic mouse too, good stuff there, seems good so far, but we'll see if it keeps pace later.

Though while I was picking it up at WalMart, I was introduced to something else I hadn't really thought of, which of course, led to more detail:

Policing each other. Ok, now I've thought about it quite often to be truthful, it's a super common thing on the local and religious scale (thus being practically the same), but I've not often thought of it on the national/international stage or the differences between looking out for someone, and policing them.

Policing someone: Setting up laws that prohibit a certain action based off of set standards and criteria. Example: WalMart has to make sure that people under 18 don't get a hold of fireworks or mature games.

Looking out for someone: If someone is doing something entirely legal that you don't feel is right, you're concerned for their wellbeing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Numerous examples, I think we have plenty we could think of on a day by day basis.

What concerns me is our continuing acceptance of an external policing force, i.e. the government. In whatever form (being local or national), our government has gotten more and more involved in what should be legal at what age and why. They're working on legislation that makes it illegal for parents to buy their OWN CHILDREN R rated movies or mature games. As exampled above, that would be far up from just limiting them as they are now.

Why is this ok? Why is it ok to police that level of morality? Last I checked, I have never run amok commanding legions of evil to the death of all. Sure, you haven't given me the opportunity yet, but neither have I run around with a pistol shooting everyone in sight. Are these the things we actually fear our children doing? Give me a break, I think you've been watching a bit much Dr. Phil and Oprah. As much as we would like to say games or movies put bad ideas into our heads that we impusively act on, when what we really need to be focusing on is our self-control.

That's always been our downfall in these areas. Controlling the use of violent games won't lessen the number of rapes, shootings, bank robberies or wars. As much as we would like to think it would, they were happening before we were in the Bronze Age, let alone before television.

You want to control what your kids play with/recreate with? That starts in the home. That starts with you as a parent and with what you let them do with their friends and while their at home. Hard? Damn right, why shouldn't it be?

But why does your lack of control have to extend beyond the home to someone else's children? You can't keep tabs on your children enough while they're at a friends house, or while their even within your own home, so you legislate it? Stop them at the source of even getting the material. Hell, I'm surprised you didn't try to ban the games all together.

What I'm advocating is rights, the rights for people to do what they want within the reason of law. But when laws become extraneous and unreasonable? There can't be justice there. When you fail in "looking out for someone" you shouldn't resort to policing everyone.

I don't see the justice, or the right for people to be restricted in their purchases unless there is a direct viable harm that can be proven. The abstract fear that someone "might" run amok on a killing spree, with a rocket launcher, as they had seen in Halo or "enter whichever here" is a little assinine. It's not a result of the games, it's a result of lack of self control and proper values.

Look after your family by enforcing your values, by explaining your values and why they have them, not by legilating it on the local population because "omfg, you can't play that! It has a gun in it!"