David and Goliath: Youth and the Bombardment of Commercialism - Essay Example

David and Goliath: Youth and the Bombardment of Commercialism The giving of government grants is an incredibly difficult task – there are always a myriad of admirable choices between the groups that desperately need the money and could really do good things with it. With a grant of $1,000,000, it is essential that it goes to a group that could take advantage of it and truly be useful for the country. What exactly would make an organization a good choice to receive a grant of this size from the government? There are several factors that need to be considered. Firstly, and most obviously, the campaign needs to have worthy aims that deserve governmental support – it should address a real problem. It also should have a proven record of taking action and making a difference in accomplishing these aims, or else the money had better be used by another organization that has demonstrated ability to use it. The organization needs to be large enough and organized enough to actually make use of the money – small groups with a proven track record in a community, for instance, might not be able to actually effectively use one million dollars, as that might be incredibly out of sync with the scale of resources they used before. The cause that the organization fights for should be in line with the government’s goals and aims; otherwise, the government would be demonstrating its own hypocrisy by supporting it. And finally, the organization should attempt to accomplish things that are difficult to find funding and support for via other resources – while developing a new cancer treatment is certainly a worthy cause, there are countless pharmaceuticals, universities and so on, which would be more than happy to throw millions of dollars towards that problem – there is not necessarily a need for government grants there. The organization “Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood” fits all of these qualifications perfectly and could make excellent use of a one million dollar governmental grant. The first and most essential quality that a group must possess to be worthy of the grant is simply doing work that is itself worthy. Founded in 2000, the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood aims at protecting children from negative impact that rampant commercialization can have on the development of childhood (“About CCFC”). Children’s exposure to commercial materials can have a wide variety of impacts – children are exposed to a great deal of violence in the media today, they are overly sexualized at excessively young ages, they play entirely with commercialized toys (and are excluded from play if they cannot access those toys), they suffer from body image issues, and can suffer from childhood obesity, all simply because they can make so much money for corporations who target them (“CCFC Issues”). Children are especially vulnerable to marketing materials targeted at them, because, unlike adults, they often do not have the kind of emotional faculties to make rational choices between needs and wants. Marketers take advantage of this fact by targeting marketing directly at children rather than their parents, for children to become incredibly emotionally involved in acquiring the things being marketed, and parents, out of emotional attachment to their children, will buy things for them – sometimes even when this puts them in vulnerable financial situations. Obviously, combating the sexualization of children, childhood obesity, and so on are worthy goals; the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood thus meets the first set of qualifications in a sterling fashion. Beyond simply having a cause that is worthy furthering, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has demonstrated an organizational longevity and strength that indicates it could put one million dollars to good use – they would not be overwhelmed by the enormity of using it correctly. For one thing, as mentioned previously, the organization has been in existence for over twelve years and is not likely to be going anywhere anytime soon. It has also organized several large-scale volunteering initiatives, from letter signing campaigns and putting direct pressure on the marketers themselves to use more appropriate tactics when dealing with children to pushing legislators to resists the urge of big-money contributions and embrace what is actually best for children. It has set up alternatives to buying into the commercial system for parents, including creating resources for a commercial-free holiday, setting up commercial-free book fairs, and so on. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has used the resources it has received so far to make measurable changes in people’s ability to opt out of the commercialized system of child-rearing, so one must assume that they can similarly good judgment in putting another one million dollars into action with measurably beneficial results. Though one million extra dollars would certainly go a long way in furthering the goals of this organization, they would be able to take the money and immediately put it to good use. In addition to having a worthy goal and a proven track record at making progress towards it, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s aims are often in line directly with the aims of the United States Government in providing a safe and healthy world for children to grow up in. Two issues they focus on are particularly in line with governmental aims – protecting children from sexualization and childhood obesity. Marketers promote sexualization of younger and younger children through showing them role models that are highly sexualized at young ages, such as the new “Tween Dora”, who wears short skirts, make up, and so on despite not even being thirteen yet (“Childhood Sexualization”). In the form of combating child pornography’s proliferation on the Internet and a variety of other values-related legislation, the US government has shown a proven track record in trying to protect children from sexualization, Furthermore, health care is quickly becoming the number one issue and the single “most expensive” thing for the United States government (Schlosser 32). Underprivileged children, however, are becoming more and more the target of marketing aimed at getting them to consume unhealthy, mass marketed food such as fast food, sugary drinks, or snack food (“Childhood Obesity”). Not only does this cause immediate harm to those children, but it also costs the US government countless millions of dollars. Finally, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood needs resources such as government grants to stay in operation, as no-one has a vested economic interest in its goals. Obviously, all major corporations are against this kind of cause – they want free range in marketing to children who are a lucrative audience. In order to stand up to such large corporations, the Campaign needs resources itself, and few people are willing to give it to them – thus it is especially deserving of government funding, as it has few other funding resources. There is a great deal that needs to be considered when doling out one million dollars of tax payers’ money. The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, however, meets or exceeds any qualification that would be required to be deserving of a government grant. It fights for issues that are incredibly important – the protection of the nation’s children – and has a proven track record of success. Its goals are in line with governmental goals, and it has few other places to turn to in order to receive funding – it is unlikely Philip Morris will be cutting this particular charity a cheque any time soon. There are certainly countless organizations that deserve a grant of government money, but the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood should be chief among them. Works Cited "About the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Home". The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Home. CCFC, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. . "Childhood Obesity". The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Home. CCFC, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. . "Issues". The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Home. CCFC, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. . "Sexualizing Childhood". The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Home. CCFC, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. . Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print. Read More