The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net

   Having the opportunity to teach your child things is one of the fun and rewarding parts of being a parent.
   However, I've realized lately that I'm not always on the imparting side of knowledge with my soon-to-be 4-year-old son. He teaches me plenty, too.
   For instance, if it weren't for my son, I'd probably think that a Power Ranger was the title of an upper-level position with the Department of Natural Resources instead of a teenager with the ability to say the phrase "Dino Thunder, Power Up!" and magically transform into a Ninja-style super hero.
   And I certainly wouldn't know that Power Rangers come in more colors than the rainbow, or that the White Power Ranger is a super hero whose father is an evil creature, causing him at times to feel conflicted about which road he should follow in his own use of his super powers. Are the sins of the father also the sins of the son? Should he give in to his apparent family destiny and follow in the evil footsteps of his father, or follow his conscience and fight alongside the good guys?
   When my son first started "getting into" the Power Rangers I'll admit that I wondered if the underlying theme of the White Power Ranger's conflicted inner calling was a little too much for a 3-year-old. I guess the modern-day creators of children's programs feel the need to present a more challenging storyline than those of my childhood. Back in "my day" super heroes had no such dilemmas.
   That's why my wife and I were delighted when he also became enamored with the classic cartoon series "The Super Friends." When evil arises, there's never any question about how Superman and his pals will respond to the diabolical deeds of Lex Luthor and the rest of the "Legion of Doom." It's cut and dry. When they see evil they confront it and defeat it. Freedom and Justice are preserved at all costs.
   Lately he's also become interested in another set of heroes - those of the Bible. (I'll pause here to give credit where credit is due and point out that it was his mother who started reading him a book of Bible stories for children.) Now he often requests this for his nightly storytime.
   While these stories sometimes lack the same intensity and all-out excitement of the Power Rangers and Super Friends, they are still fascinating to him. I guess that's because their themes are basically the same: Good versus Evil. I'm sure there are some who feel it's blasphemous to make the comparison, but please don't flood the mailbox with nasty letters to the editor without stopping to realize that the stories of the Bible have some of the same themes of the Super Friends and the Power Rangers.
   After all, the characters of the Bible always defeat Evil in the end, just like the Super Friends. Also, many of the Biblical heroes who were called by and used by God shared both of the White Power Ranger's most basic characteristics. Just like the White Power Ranger (and the rest of us in