Go Figure

I live in a tri-state area. Living here, I get to see TV commercials not only from my own state, but also from the two nearby states. Imagine my immense glee over this new public service announcement aired by our good friends in neighboring Kentucky.

The scene: images of flowers and complacent, smiling women come across the screen accompanied by sweet, lullaby-ish music. For about ten seconds you watch and wonder, "Hmm...what's this going to be a commercial for?" Then, a young woman begins talking. She has a soft but noticeable Kentucky accent, almost as if she was hand-picked to represent an ideal mainstream dialect for her people--not too twangy and backwoods but not too...northern. "If you're pregnant," she says, "don't drink or smoke. Take your vitamins and see a doctor." We then find out it's a message from the Kentucky Department of Education.

Oyyyy. What year is it?! Is the situation so bad in Kentucky that they've had to issue a statewide PSA campaign reminding women that it is, in fact, NOT okay to chain smoke between keg stands whilst incubating a human being? What is going on across the river?! How is this not common sense, and why does it take a multi-million dollar ad campaign to teach common sense to our neighbors? And finally, what the hell does health class look like in those schools? I must know.

I'm the slightest bit tempted to send a letter to the Kentucky Department of Education that says, "Hey, thanks for doing your part to virtually LEAP into the 1960s on publicizing your public health policies. You take a break now. You've worked hard. Just put your head down and rest. You'll need your energy for that big AIDS crisis PSA you'll be putting out in 15 years."