The Moral of the Story with Thomas the Tank Engine

Yesterday, I shared "Happy Hour" drinks with a friend.  She had recently babysat some kids and remarked about the popular kids show, "Thomas the Tank Engine".  She felt that the moral of the stories was "Don't worry, despite anything that you do wrong, everything will work out in the end."
     I disagreed.  I think the moral of the stories is to show youngsters what NOT to do, so they avoid making those mistakes.

     But, my friend made a point: there are no consequences shown for making mistakes, disobeying, causing trouble, being lazy, or being selfish.  She equated it to watching the life of Justin Bieber (which is true, just wikipedia him).  (Personally, I'd equate it to the lives of arrogantly inept senior management at General Motors).  e.g.: Did all the "money managers" and "legal watchdogs" who let Bernie Madoff or Marc Stuart Dreier or Enron steal hundreds of millions of dollars get punished, too?  
     Perhaps, there is a lesson in what she said.  While my mentality is to learn from others' experiences about what NOT to do (that, and I have a conscience), other people may just lazily and carelessly not care… because everything they see around them is free of consequences.