TheSequitur.com Editorial Board
Sept. 2, 2007 

For decades, experiments in democracy have taken place in classrooms all over America. From model United Nations, where the child delegates act as their corresponding ambassadors, to student governments, where kids play with other kids money, adults have long encouraged children to experience the political process in controlled, safe, monitored environments.

Was the mother who is suing forced by gunpoint to relinquish her child to CBS executives? No. But this is America in the new millennium, and that's just not good enough. Apparently, even the process by which we enlighten our children about how politics works just doesn't have enough gusto. Case in point: Kid Nation, a television show that will star in CBS's fall lineup, where forty children aged 9 to 15 were unleashed on a “ghost town” in a New Mexico movie lot. With crew present, the kids were left to take care of themselves, washing their own clothes, cooking their own meals, and establishing their own government of sorts.

So what's the big deal? Many people would think of this as the kind of thing that goes on at a summer camp meant to shape kids into stronger young adults. But summer camps have controls built into them – counselors, to name one. In the case of Kid Nation, children were left largely unsupervised, a fact evidenced by the hospitalization of children who imbibed bleach that was left in an unmarked soda bottle and another (whose mother is now pressing charges) who was burned in the face when trying to cook with grease.

Was the mother who is suing forced at gunpoint to relinquish her child to CBS executives? No. She signed a contract – just like the other parents – to allow her child to participate in the show. The contract also stated the payment each child would receive for the ninety days spent filming: $5000. Not to mention the fact that parents were left to work with their respective school districts to arrange how their kids would make up school work. Did we forget to mention that the kids were pulled out of school for this?

Then again, after hearing all about this show, won't you be tuning in to the September premier?The fact of the matter is that when television executives make decisions about what shows they will create, produce, and air, they are sending a message to us about what they think we want to see. It's way past time for us to send a message back – we don't want to see programming that is essentially a social experiment which exploits children who are so young that they aren't the ones who ultimately make a decision about their involvement in such an enterprise.

Then again, after hearing all about this show, won't you be tuning in to the September premier?