I know to me Big Bird was a massive part of my childhood

[LynneSin]

My mother had me watching 'Sesame Place' since I was born. Mind you I had an older brother so good chance we would all be in the room enjoying 'Sesame Place' together as a family.

This was a wonderful TV show geared towards kids and it wasn't pushing toys or candy or sugary breakfast cerael but it was promoting Reading & Math and Diversity.

Because they read on Sesame Place I wanted to read. And I learned to count and even count to 10 in Spanish.

And for me - I saw people who were African-American and Hispanic and White all interacting together and with my favorite puppets. Maybe that sounds odd to you but growing up in rural PA, Sesame Place was a show that taught me to treat everyone equal - we are all the same.

As I grew older I graduated into shows like 'Electric Company' (who here enjoyed reading with the Easy Reader himself - Morgan Freeman!) but many times I'd still watch some of Sesame Street, which came on before 'Electric Company' mainly because of the wonderful times I spent watching those beloved puppets.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with such positive memories of a TV show but for Mitt Romney to attack Big Bird was just downright stupid. Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert & Ernie, Kermit, Count von Count and the Cookie Monster have been a beloved part of our country for over 40 years. To want to cut that program heartlessly is just cruel.

[hedgehog]

1. "it wasn't pushing toys or candy or sugary breakfast cereal"

#1 - I raised my kids on PBS - and they have not been encultured to be mindless consumers

#2 - Maybe that's the reason republicans hate PBS!

[Risen Demon]

13. You're right, and

I don't forsee Sesame Street ever going under. However, I do forsee(If Mitt gets elected and gets his way) it being bought out by a media titan and put on with several of those shallow toy and candy commercials in between, as well as forcing the cast to spew certain bias during the show in the interests of the corporations best interest.

Fox News for KIDS.... *shivers*

[Skidmore]

2. Sesame Street has been an important part of early learning for

children in rural areas too. It provides enrichment for little people. My kids watched it and now my grandchildren also. It is a national treasure, along the national treasures PBS has provided for big people too. You can't name one channel on any of cable or satellite where you can find programs with the merit of Masterpiece Theatre, Downton Abbey, Upstairs, Downstairs, the list goes on.

PBS is a national treasure and should be maintained outside of politics.

[BarackTheVote]

10. Sherlock!

[Jennicut]

3. It was for me and then for my two girls.

The girls have grown out of it at 7 and 8 but now my 2 year old nephew loves it (and Elmo!).

I remember Electric Company too.

Mitt is an idiot and he really crapped on a lot of Gen X's and Gen Y's childhood memories. Great way to get younger voters, Mittens.

[Arkansas Granny]

4. My daughter was born the same year that Sesame Street first aired and she

watched it, literally, from birth, since my oldest son was 2 1/2 at the time. All of my kids loved the show and they learned so much from it.

I recently purchased a set of the first episodes from 1969 on DVD for the grandkids and great grandkids to watch when they visit her house. She told me the other day that she remembered most of them and that she got as much enjoyment from watching the old shows as the current batch of rugrats.

Mitt has really put his foot in it this time.

[MgtPA]

5. When my daughter was born, we lived in a very rural area which was quite isolated.

Until she was 4, my daughter's only non-relative friend was the daughter of a co-worker. We watched Sesame Street every day from the time my daughter was born until she started school.

When my daughter was about 3 years old, we were watching Sesame Street one day, and she turned to me and said "Mom, how come I don't have any friends with brown skin? All I have are friends with pink skin, and I really want friends with brown skin too!"

I told her she would have plenty of new friends when she started school.

That's when I realized how much her worldview had already been shaped just by watching a TV show. I really love Sesame Street.

[CreekDog]

6. And Mr. Snuffleupagus was a massive part of my imaginary childhood

[LynneSin]

7. That was the large wooly mammoth that only Big Bird could see

[Phentex]

8. Obviously, I am grateful for Kermit's role on the show...

because I am a Jim Henson fan to an extreme. I loved many of the muppets on SS but it was The Muppet Show that had the most influence on me.

PBS is a treasure for all of us. Mitt Romney is a disgrace.

[LynneSin]

11. Was Kermit the only muppet to do both Sesame Street and the Muppets

I never saw Miss Piggy or Fozzie Bear or Sesame Street nor did I see Oscar or Bert & Ernie on the Muppets.

[Phentex]

12. Different time periods and target audiences...

the Muppet Show was definitely for adults while Sesame Street was for the younger set.

Tons of the Muppets (including Big Bird) appeared in the Muppet Movie at the end during the wedding scene. I LOVED that scene! What a dream wedding!

I did go down the aisle to The Rainbow Connection.

[hedgehog]

9. How many kids were made reading ready by what they learned from Sesame Street?

So much for Mitt's dedication to education!

My company has plants in several rural areas. For all the emphasis on the need for college education, it's a real problem to find employees with basic arithmetic (not mathematics, arithmetic!)and reading skills!