If you watched the Miss America Competition this year, then you witnessed Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron, winning the crown and taking the opportunity to slam video games. According to Miss Virginia, video games and television are making children lazy. They should be playing  imaginary games with sticks in the street like she did when she was little. She’s 23. I’m older than her and I didn’t even play with  sticks in the street. I had Nintendo and Tiger Electronics.

I understand the concerns of over-weight children, video games and tv. It’s all about moderation. Just because Mom and Dad let little Jimmy play video games from 3pm until 10pm does not make the electronic entertainment arts responsible for his bone idleness. Is it really any different than children that read for seven hours a day? They too are sitting, exercising their minds. Throw your kid in karate twice a week and let him play Ninja Gaiden when his homework is done.

Miss Virginia was of course elated to win and shared her encouraging message “you can be and become anything that you want to be, even Miss America.” That’s nice. I want to be a video game developer, story board artist, editorial writer, or something else that will probably contribute to children not knowing the joys of imaginary stick games from 1992.

I’m sorry my dream, and the dreams of countless others, wasn’t to wear a swimsuit and prance around on stage for a panel of judges.  As a youth, I wanted to play basketball after school and then continue my religious following of Mario 3 after dinner.  As an adult, I have a career in information technology and after dinner I play Uncharted 2.   What’s wrong with that?

Ironically enough, Caressa is studying broadcast journalism and has accepted a position as the spokesperson for IHOP’s National Pancake Day celebration.  Truly her dream is to find herself everyday in the living rooms of  people sitting on their couches…receive further recognition by encouraging said people on their couches to eat more pancakes…all while receiving a crown on a television broadcast from Planet Hollywood.

What a dog and pony show!