Monday, January 13, 2003

Celebrity non-endorsement

Well, I guess the whole issue of medicating kids who have trouble in school is settled now: Tom Cruise has spoken. According to an AP report on a press conference in New Zealand, where he's preparing to shoot his next movie, Cruise "advised parents on Saturday to work hard to help children having problems at school and not immediately put them on medication." Well, thanks, Tom. We'll try.

The star went on to relate his own childhood academic struggles, which were remediated finally not with pharmaceuticals but with Scientology. You can hardly argue the fact that Cruise has grown up to be a successful adult despite his early difficulties. And as it happens, I'm in agreement with him on the wrongness of medication as a first resort. Still, I can't help but bristle when celebrities make proclamations about how ordinary folks ought to live their lives and raise their children. Look to your own house, y'all.

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