You can’t edit life

HOW dare Patrick Goldstein agree with the ridiculous and offensive behavior of CleanFlicks (“This Dad Demands Final Cut,” Oct. 29). What’s worse is that he acts as if he is compelled to watch every piece of trash that enters the media stream. Freedom of speech in America means you can say anything you want -- and so can everyone else. Being a thinking, rational, human being means you get to choose whether you want to listen.

And as for his epiphany: I’m sorry that instead of choosing to use “The Lion King” to educate his child about the meaning of sacrifice and death, Goldstein has, like so many others, simply “deleted” the bad part. Oh, glorious editing, if only real life worked that way. We could edit out the sniper ... and the Russian hostages ... and Iraq

Mark Steensland

Orange

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GOLDSTEIN’S point is valid, if only the entertainment industry behemoths that control what we are offered as consumers take a varied approach that benefits all consumers. Choice is indeed the byword here. I’d regret to see all of our entertainment choices dictated by children or, by proxy, their parents. Parents also have a responsibility to not show every film to their children, no matter how pleasantly truncated by technology the result may be.

Christian Hokenson

Burbank