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We said: "In a perfect world, what would be the rules about advertising and kids? Marketing and school? Merchandising and publishing? What is wrong with the picture, as it is painted now by others? How would you fix what is broken if someone finally gave you the cosmic tool belt?"

Today we give you the results -- handpicked from many missives -- of this exhortation to action. And we would like to thank everyone who sent us something on the subject.

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Dave Modrow: It seems to me that the greatest pressure to buy this or that toy for kids comes not from advertising but from peer pressure. Many parents feel forced to buy a particular toy or clothing item for their children because "all the other kids have it" and their kids will "feel left out" if they don't have what "all the other kids" have.

One way to combat this pressure would be for the parents in a neighborhood or school district to meet and agree in advance on what toys they will and will not buy for their kids. Such a group could not cover all buying decisions, of course, but they could at least come to a decision on the most expensive items, the latest big thing or overhyped fad.

I know this sounds like an ungainly process, but I also know that when I was a kid, my parents were in regular contact with my friends' parents, and they kept each other informed of our actions; deciding what toys to get us would have been relatively easy.

Whatever they are selling, the marketing weasels depend on division and isolation to prevent their targets from seeing through their manipulative hype. This is why the entertainment industry glorifies lone heroes and not collective action to solve problems. The simple act of meeting and conferring with others on any issue is, therefore, revolutionary in its effect.

Neel Krishnaswami: Reading your series, I was struck by a single common thread: No one seems willing to accept that people may have some responsibility for what they buy and how they spend their time.

If you think that television is dominated by banal and stupid programming and hard-sell advertising, then don't watch it. It's not hard -- I hear there's this device called an "off switch" that comes attached to every television. No one will arrest you for not watching television; most likely, no one will even care.

Your child does not have control of your pocketbook -- you do. If you feel forced to waste money at Baby Gap and Toys "R" Us, remember that you went to the store, you picked up the schlock and you paid the money. You have full power to say, "Screw this," and walk away. If you don't, it's because you chose to spend the money.

There are plenty of charities, amateur musical groups, community groups and open-source-software projects that would be overjoyed to have someone willing to spend as much time volunteering as they do watching television.

I make no moral judgment here: How you spend your time is your business, not mine. But don't expect me to feel guilty about how you spend your time, and definitely don't expect me to support laws to forbid everyone from making the decisions you consider vices. In short, stop trying to "protect" me from advertising -- I don't need or want your condescending paternalism.

Full disclosure: I don't work for an advertising company, I don't own a television, I don't have broadband Internet and I don't care about you.

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