President Obama, back when he was Senator Obama, ran a campaign ad that encouraged parents to turn off their televisions. I remember thinking, “Well, that may be a good start, but negative media images are literally EVERYWHERE these days!” Young children in this country are positively inundated with sexy, violent, and just plain ridiculous ads. Even when they are in school! Many of these ads encourage them to nag for unhealthy foods and teach them try to buy their way to happiness and popularity. Enough already!
What can you do to fight back? Join a letter writing campaign. It’s easy with the help of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. They are one of the best agencies working for children in our country. They have been using the internet to organize effective letter writing campaigns, and I can not say enough good things about them. Right now, you can quickly send a letter to President Obama urging him to, “direct the FTC and the FCC to evaluate their current policies on marketing to children…”
Obama has young children, so hopefully he will listen. The letters will be delivered to President Obama for Father’s Day. To submit your letter, go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/621/t/6725/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1935
You can also check out the powerful work from Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/
