KMO wrote:
>
>Both of these gems were waiting for me in my email box this morning:
>
>===================================================
Just a couple of parts that rubbed me the wrong way...*dons suit of asbestos*
>I was born in 1943 and grew up in the 40's and 50's. Anyone much younger
>than 45 will find it difficult to comprehend what a difference there is
>between today and then. The differences speak volumes about where
>America is today and where it is headed-and the end of the road is not
very pretty.
Me under 45. Me no understand big consepts lik dat. Lik time an' societee.
Seriously though, my major problem with this essay (or whatever it is) is
that this guy completely overlooks many of the negative aspects of the
past, and focuses on
He has the illusion that the 40's and 50's really were some kind of Golden
Age of Enlightenment. I don't argue with the truth of his experiences and
observations of how much better life was "back when I was a kid", because I
agree with them mostly, but his reasoning to back this up is this. Back then:
--There was far less crime. --Things were "absolute", meaning right or wrong and black or white. --Students didn't go on killing sprees. --Gun control wasn't an issue. -- No AIDS
Gee, that's nice. Shall we get the whole picture? Also in the '40's & '50's :
--No civil rights. Segregation of whites and "niggers". **The KKK***
--Hello, Holocaust anyone? Slaughter of Jews, WW2, Europe being invaded,
not to mention Czechoslovakia being taken over by Hitler (and this was OKed
by the US and allies) and then by the Soviet Union.
--Women had few rights. Extremely oppressed, IMO. I couldn't have even
gone to a regular college back then! (Somehow I don't think that if I had
been barefoot and pregnant instead of at this university I would be very
happy right now.)
--Gay rights. Sexual discrimination laws? Hell no- homophobia and
gay-bashing was *supported* back then. Homosexuals were put in
electroshock therapy and insane asylums, for christ's sake! Many were also
expelled from the military.
--Not to mention what was done to actual mentally-ill persons. Treated
like animals.
--The McCarthy Era. Duh! --Abortion was illegal. Then again I'm surprised women could vote by then. --The word "enviornmental preservation" was nonexistent. --No public awareness of issues such as rape, domestic abuse, and poverty.
And those are just off the top of my head. Oh, and supposedly *I* don't get it because I'm not an elderly person? I'd say I'm less delusioned than this guy.
>There were no school counselors to undermine the authority of parents.
>When, on rare occasions, I got a whipping from my father for doing something
>wrong, there were no voices around yelling "child abuse." If I misbehaved at
>school, there was a price to pay, including the possibility of getting
>paddled by the teacher or principal. Most of us were grateful for such
>discipline.
No school counselors is a good thing, eh? What if a child was actually in _need_ of someone to help them? Instead of a 'whipping' as punishment, what if they were beaten bloody every day and malnurished? And there were many of these children needing help, but according to him there was nowhere for them to turn to. Should a child be abused, molested, neglected, etc., so as not to "undermine the authority of parents"? How noble.
>When I went to college, in 1961, I made my first contact with one of the
>ideas that would become the destroyer of America, as I had known it: the
>idea that there are no absolutes. This notion was awash on our college
>campuses in the 60's. It was an idea that would undo, for many, everything
>they had learned as a youngster from their parents and teachers. It would
>create a generation of baby boomers that thought virtually nothing was
>absolute, that almost anything goes. It was an idea that gradually filtered
>down to high schools and grade schools. It was to later take many lives, as
>it has most recently done in Littleton, Colorado.
Oh, there we go again, passing the blame and using something else as a scapegoat. Instead of being the media this time, it's something like 'lack of morality'. An "IDEA", not two psychotic teenagers with guns and bullets, killed all those children. Yup.
>The idea that there are no absolutes is a contradiction and, therefore,
>absolutely false. But as long as this idea remains the common currency of
>modern education, we will continue to see students, transformed into
>absolute monsters by the teachers of the non-absolute, kill others.
But various and assorted "absolutes", which inevitably come from many different sources, do *not* contradict each other? What planet is this guy on?
And so this guy's lesson is: It's okay to burn a cross on someone's lawn, as long as children don't talk back to their parents. What pearls of wisdom. My response is this: At least we HAVE social consciousness nowadays, instead of hiding everything that's wrong with the world behind an Iron Curtain of artificial well-being and apple pie
I agree on some points he makes, such as the need for discipline, but I certainly don't dig the whole "Everything was rosy until the hippies became teachers" crap..
>===================================================
>Moral Absolutes, Not More Gun Laws
>Right and wrong have been replaced with 'valueneutral' cant, leaving
>misguided kids adrift.
Kids know right and wrong, but they are obviously (pardon the expression) really, really fucked up and want to kill people sometimes.
Here's a crazy idea- how about people actually start taking responsibility for their actions? I know responsibility sounds absurd, but bear with me. One of these supposed "kids" was **18** years old. Folks, I am 19- only one year older. I was a sophomore in college at 18. Trust me, at this age you are no longer controlled by adults and know _exactly_ what you are doing. Consider this: Those two killers in Colorado had the intellect and knowledge to plot this massacre, and even manufactured homemade bombs! That's more than I could do. Clearly, these 'neo-Nazi', gun-toting, bomb-making, carefully-planning youths were NOT children. It was not a matter of them being spanked or not by their parents, but of getting incarcerated and getting therapy. Unlike the masses of sheep-like minds in this country want to believe right now, most young people are not murderous villains bent on committing genocide (or hijacking a plane and crashing it into New York)
I think all you critical 50+ year olds out there need to get it through your skulls that "kids" my age and seniors in high school are not kids at all but young adults. We are not fluffy, white fuzzballs floating in the breeze, carried on by every whim of the media and pop culture. We can think for ourselves, our hatred and love is real, and we know the consequences of that. We are in control of our own destiny. I have done things that are *wrong* before, because it was in my own self-interest. I've had many urges to do harmful and bad things, but there is such a thing as self-control, and I've chosen to be good. You think I had a perfect childhood, or don't have plenty of reasons to be messed up? You're wrong. I'm not an extension of my parents, and those most important thing to people my age is exercising one's free will. If children are only the product of their parents and nothing more, then why have so many kids who have suffered and had awful parents turned out to be loving and caring individuals? And conversely, if that is true, why have children with caring and nurturing parents turned out to be monsters? Furthermore, if children are shaped by the media, music, and other mediums, why did I turn out to be such a compassionate and respectable individual when I grew up watching graphic horror movies since I was four, reading violent fiction, and listening to anti-God, anti-society extremely negative German rock music? Accusatory adults are pointing fingers and trying to rid us of the evil 'symptoms' of our corrupted society and moral decay through censorship and facism. But no matter how effective you are in destroying the symptoms, the _disease_ will remain without treatment.
Right now a Witch Hunt is being conducted in this country. Instead of getting to the root of the problem, let's change the dress code and ban the wearing of all black trench coats like a bunch of dictators instead! Instead of examining human nature and culture, let's shift the blame to a bunch of inanimate objects and neutral mediums like print, music, and television, which we think are "signs" of Satanism and serial killers. Much like natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes are "signs" of the Apocalypse. What is believed to be evil *things* that seek out impressionable young minds to corrupt and pollute them with vile influences are actually benign. In fact, it's the young minds that seek them out, and do you know why? Contrary to popular belief, these adolescents don't latch on to these interchangeable things (such as the music of Marilyn Manson or NIN, black clothing and Goth style of dress, neo-Nazism, violent video games, horror and cyber movies, 'Satanic' writings or jewelry, tattoos, etc.) because the kids are malevolent, or the objects are malevolent, but because culture and society TELLS them that these forbidden fruits are tainted and questionable. Being in a turbulent time and grasping for identity, these angst-ridden and misunderstood teens are bound to break the rules. They want to be different, yet they want to fit in all the same; they want to be free, yet they want to conform. Culture and adults dictate: "This is what is different and therefore unacceptable. You are a freak and a <insert generic label here> if you dress this way, say this, and do this in your free time." Naturally, rebellious teens (most) will gravitate towards whatever these specifics are. Little do they know they aren't really making choices or being an individual, but falling into the trap of whatever <subculture> is that week. Eventually, this blows up in the face of the dictadors. Bet you crotchety old judges of morality and absolutism hadn't figured that one out yet.
We shouldn't worry about this being the norm, as this was a singular tragic event. Every damn day kids kill each other in the "ghetto", but does that get massive amounts of news coverage? No, because that's just common "inner-city" life, and you don't see parents across the nation suing people left and right because thousands of poor, uneducated minority youth are shooting each other all the time. This instance is shocking because it was in a middle-class WHITE suburb, and you can bet your sweet Squid that if this had been the slaughter of 15-25 black youths from the 'wrong side of the tracks' in Los Angeles, the whole incident would have been written off as another "gang-related" murder. Sound like an exaggeration? I doubt it. In this case, death is being harvested differently.
> Fourteen kids and one adult are dead, and for no good reason. The
>horrid events in Littleton, Colo., last week cause us all first to wince,
>then to feel the loss of other parents and, last of all, to ask why it had
to happen.
> This last question cannot ever be answered with certainty. To look
>into another human heart is something none of us can really do.
So why does everyone assume they know what the cause was?
> "Congress," this part of the Constitution says, "shall pass no law
>respecting an establishment of religion," and then it goes on to protect the
>press, freedom of speech and assembly. This first entry in the Bill of
>Rights is taught to kids in school as freedom of religion. Yet current
>political culture twists it into freedom from religion. The political left
>bridles at the mere recitation of a single prayer in public schools. Why?
>Well, it offends some of those among us who choose not to believe in God,
>and since those people may be offended (especially the noisy ones), this
>small minority is able to impose its views on the majority, and to do so
>with the blessingnay the advocacyof the "progressive" elements of our
>political culture.
Except the TRUTH is that this majority happens to always be shoving it's theism down the throat of the minority. (atheists) Typical demonstration of the way they warp facts. And we DO deserve freedom from religion, because we are constantly being bombarded by it. Many groups, such as the Boy Scouts, are exclusive for Christians. It's obvious that separation of Church and State does not exist, and people like this get all whiny because they can't get away with forcing everyone to be the same. I doubt they would be so enthusiastic for religious teaching in schools if it meant the Muslim practice of praying five times a day to Allah. Hypocrites.
> I suppose my first reaction is, what's the big deal? If atheists
>don't believe, what possible interest could they have in the words of those
>who do? Oh, yeah, the kids of parents who choose not to believe can't be
>exposed to a contrary outlook, lest they be polluted by it. We can't have
>the public schools inculcating belief in something like that and we
>don't.
Or you could simply practice religious rituals at home, with the family. Oh, I forgot, separation of Church and State doesn't exist. Silly me.
> Instead we have schools promoting "valueneutral" cant. Modern school
>books tell kids that stealing, for example, is wrong, not because it's
>"wrong," but rather because after stealing you might feel badly about it
>later on.
I don't know about everyone else, but *I* never had a textbook placed in front of me that said "Stealing is wrong." It's quite clear that it is against the _Law_ to steal. They don't pass out manuals which say this, everyone just knows it.
>Better, isn't it, to let kids mush along with their own subculture
>and figure things out for themselves, albeit with the help of rap music and
>Web sites about Adolf Hitler?
Sheep. Baaaaaaaaa. I already explained the impotency of certain kinds of music and the Internet. How can you put a value judgment on all rap music, unless you equally condemn the bane that is the Spice Girls? I know it makes me want to commit murder. And we all know how harmful information and words on a computer screen are. This guy has been listening to Christian fundamentalists and Tipper Gore too much. And what's the name of that other conservative who's famous for attacking gangsta rap? Besides, popular music isn't really about being instructed and taught how to interact with others, it's entirely about Image and commercialism. After all, it's not the musicians, but the business folks and record companies that are trying to sell sell sell to the kids, right? More consumerism, handed down by adults not M. Manson.
> There's a lot more to it than that, of course, but the simple fact is
>that the political left has assumed ownership of the rules of contemporary
>society.
That's right, blame the downfall of society on "the political left", and not human beings in general. Gee, for a famous writer, this guy really knows how to think for himself. Baaaaah.
>They have replaced right and wrong with something else, and one
>result of this is that there were no people to take the two adolescent
>shooters in Littleton aside and say, "Hey, guys, this Hitler chap you talk
>about, he was not much of a role model, and, by the way, whatever problems
>you may have with your schoolmates, we can work on that, and maybe if you
>change a little, they will, too, and whatever feelings of rejection you
have will fade away in a relatively short period of time."
"That's right Sonny, idolize our corporate approved demigods instead. Worship what we endorse, assume our morals, and by the way, drink Coke."
Once again, that same elusive group of politicians and their philosophy is to blame for the murder of those children, not the killers themselves. Listen- if it hadn't been Hitler those two boys chose to admire, than it would have been someone else. Same difference. Look at the example they had to follow: the United States thinks it's OK to blow away one's enemies, why shouldn't they? Who needs Hitler and Charles Manson to emulate when you have the government and military of the good ol' U.S. of A.
Also, a Barney the Dinosaur/Mr. Rogers approach to self-help doesn't work on highly psychotic and suicidal individuals.
> But nobody intervened, and evidently nobody told these two misguided
>kids that some things are objectively wrong. Perhaps too many public
>schoolteachers do not view morals instruction as being within their
>professional purview. Perhaps their union disapproves of prayers and
>moralityteaching as much as the ACLU does. Maybe it was their parents'
>fault, maybe the fault of many segments of society. The final score is
>dismally simple: These two boys did what they did because nobody told them
>convincingly that to do so was horribly wrong.
...As if the two boys hadn't already thought of this. They didn't CARE that it was wrong. They didn't want to end up in prison for life, so they killed themselves to escape punishment. Fucking mandatory prayer is not going to change that. It's not a case of "if only if they had watched an After School Special in time, they would have been saved!"
And if you think being forced to pray could have saved them, then you need a lobodomy.
This tragedy is no one's "fault" but that of the criminals. If a friend of yours commits suicide, you will be shocked and saddened, and then ask, "Why?" Of course, there were probably many signs before it happened, but just because their friends and family aren't psychic doesn't mean they are at fault. We don't arrest the loved ones of people who commit suicide, because although it was tragic, the person was obviously a self-destructive individual who chose to take their own life. Regardless, it's not the parent's fault, nor society's. These awful things just happen.
> So maybe, just maybe, we can allow public schools to tell kids that
>some things are just plain wrong? The problem with that is that our ideas of
>right and wrong ultimately come from a source higher than government. And to
>say such a thing would offend atheists. But if you remove something and fail
>to replace it with something else, there will be a downstream effect.
Good idea. Let's brainwash kids against their Will, force them to believe the Bible like a bunch of facists, and give them absolutely no choice in regard to their personal freedom. If they don't believe in God like we say so, we'll have them shot. Furthermore, if Christianity is going to be the official religion, we'll have to wipe out the culture and the thousands of different religions in every other country in the world. Well teach children this-- "It's wrong to steal and to kill your classmates, but it's righteous to kill anyone that doesn't believe in God." You deserve a Nobel Prize!
> These two kids used guns and some homemade explosives. In the former
>case, let's try to remember that guns are inanimate objects. They do not
>leap up and operate on their own accord. A person, misguided or not, has to
>do that. The person may be motivated by greed, hatred or madness, and in
>some cases there is nothing we can do about the wishes of that human heart.
>But in some cases we can, if we think a little about what ideas we trouble
>ourselves to teach our children. It is neither difficult nor particularly
>offensive to instruct children in the better reasons rather than casting
>them adrift to find the worse ones on their own untutored accord.
I bet this guy thinks he's some kind of Saint. Pfft.. I think "ideas" about IDEAS are the downfall of our society and the cause of all this carnage and mayhem! Every toxic meme is automatically auto-toxic.
In conclusion, I'm going sit back and scoff at the citizens of this country as everyone else plays the game "Name Your Boogey Man" and uses their fear and ignorance as a moral compass in order to continue the Hunt.
Man, you grown-ups don't know nuthin'.
sincerely,
~kjs