Because I Said So!

I would love to return to the good old days where some things existed because they had never been questioned. Like phrases. Like "because I said so." As a child, I knew that there was no reason beyond that response to my questions ("can I have another cookie?...can I stay up for one more hour?...can I walk to town?...can I have someone spend the night?). It's not like my requests weren't answered with a "yes" when a "yes" was appropriate. But when they were answered with a "no", I wanted explanations. For instance:
Me: Mom, can I go out for a coke?
Mom: No.
Me: Why not?
Mom: Because it's a school night.
Me: But I'll be home by 9.
Mom: You have homework.
Me: I just have one chapter to read. Can I go?
Mom: No
Me: Everyone else is.
Mom: If everyone jumped off a roof would you do that too?
Me: Mom, please can I go?
Mom: No.
Me: Why not?
Mom: Because I said so...
...and that was the end of the discussion. No matter how many good comebacks I still had yet to use, I knew that I had hit the wall with Mom and I might as well give it up. Unreasonable? You bet! Unchangeable? No way! As a parent, I often resorted to that same phrase with my own and it was a reliable answer when I didn't want them to do something, have something or go somewhere and didn't have a reason for saying no. I could tell even then that the power of a parent's "say so" was waning though. The boys were quick to inform me that NObody's parents still used that, just me. NObody's parents said no for no reason, just me. I was the last hold out to use my say so as the final word.

I never hear that phrase being used today. I don't know if it's outlived it's bluff, it's punch, it's strength, it's clout or what. But try and remember the last time you were in a checkout line with a kid screaming for candy and the mom or dad ending the discussion with, "Because I said so." That's what I thought!