George Calloway on Stick Ball and Children

"I read an article recently on the dangers of obesity in children and how this threat is growing not just in American culture but throughout all first world nations. I know - and you do, too - this is not news. It's been endemic in developed countries for the last thirty years or so. But, the author of the story seemed to suddenly discover it amid the controversy about taxing sugared drinks in some major American cities. Of course, it had nothing to do with a new source of revenue only about the health of our children.

"If my father was alive today he would probably have had a conniption fit (people back in the day used to have conniptions, in fact it was quite commonplace especially after your team lost in overtime). Dad would have said that government had no place taxing a beverage, any beverage, just because elitist community and municipal planners, who know better than the helots that populate this planet, deigned to protect the ignorant masses out of the benevolence of their own hearts. Yes, dad would have said that because he saw the coming intrusions of dictatorial social engineering as far back as the Sixties. He always maintained that, given their own imaginative resources, kids could pretty much take care of themselves, as long as they were instructed and disciplined enough to eat their vegetables at dinner, or not eat at all, attend to their religious obligations, and come home when the streetlights came on.

"Unlike today, where our children eat what they want, have no idea Who and what God expects them to be, and are slaves to electronic devises that keep them inside four walls, deprive them of social skills, increase inertia (if that’s possible), and cause corpulence unimaginable just a generation ago."

In a recent commentary, writer George Calloway reflected on the importance of children exercising their bodies and their potential to "express themselves with imagination and exuberance."

To access Mr. Calloway's complete post, please visit:

Catholic World Report: The Dispatch: On fathers, conniptions, and stick ball (17 JUN 17)