KATHRYN JEAN LOPEZ: Socialist Kool-Aid? I try not to linger in the quasi-juice aisle too long, but I know I haven’t seen that. Does such a characterization potentially harm your message, or is the effect truly that pernicious — that our children are drinking in socialism daily?
MARYBETH HICKS: I wish the Kool-Aid weren’t so pervasive, but unfortunately, the numbers about our young generation don’t lie. By every measurable standard I could find, they believe what the Left tells them about virtually every hot-button issue of our day. And it should not surprise us. The institutions with the greatest influence on our kids are decidedly leftist — that is, the schools and educational infrastructure, the media, and pop culture. So it’s not just this conservative mom/columnist suggesting that the Left is whistling the only tune our kids hear. The Left is proud of this fact!
LOPEZ: To quote from your book, “I personally have sat through dozens of youth basketball games in which players and their parents counted the score in their heads because official scoring was not allowed.” But, come on, we still watch sports games that do keep score. How bad is it really that tykes play just for the sake of playing?
HICKS: The whole “equality of outcomes” movement in education has morphed into a weird preoccupation with ensuring that all kids always feel great about everything they do, and that includes sports. Kids can learn solid character through athletic participation because sports are a perfect metaphor for life. And nobody likes to lose, but if we don’t teach children to lose, we also won’t help them develop the drive to succeed. (Actually, I did say in the book that wee ones should enjoy non-competitive instructional sports for the sake of learning new games.) The point is, there’s an obsession with “fairness of outcomes” that has permeated our children’s experiences, and that’s a cornerstone of a socialist worldview.
LOPEZ: This “no losers” attitude: Is it especially bad for boys?
HICKS: It’s especially bad for all kids if you’re trying to raise a generation that is willing to work hard, persevere, overcome disappointments, focus on goals, and win in the end! The idea that no one loses — or that no one should lose — creates expectations of entitlement that most of us recognize as dangerous and all too evident already. The finished product of such an upbringing looks a lot like the rioters in London — young people running amok without conscience or conviction, believing they’re entitled to get back at people who have more than they do.
LOPEZ: You write, “Before our children are old enough to shop for mom jeans and minivans, mark my words: America will be a place where all children are required to learn (and thus believe) that gender confusion isn’t a disorder but a normal phase of human development, and that differences between men and women are irrelevant, destructive, and useless.”
HICKS: By the time today’s children are young adults with little ones of their own, the issue of gender confusion will have been normalized. It won’t be considered a disorder, but just a “normal” aspect of sexual questioning, which will include other “normal” phases of hetero- or homosexuality in one’s life. That’s a radically different idea about sexuality than has been promoted even in our generation.
Intellectual diversity? You stopped me cold with that leftist-sounding tortured term. It was a great interview and I agree that the schools have become Indoctrination Centers. But please stop attaching "diversity" to everything as though that's a good thing. We used to have something called absolutes. "Intellectual diversity" is an oxymoron. Retire that word "diversity." It's already done enough damage.
Couldn't agree more. And the hogwash that diversity means strength? Diversity means divisiveness and weakness. Strength comes not from celebrating differences a la diversity BS, but through forging the differences into a new item, a la bronze, iron, etc. The metling pot that is (or was) the US was successful not because we had so many different cultures, but because we melded them all together into a distinctly American culture. Our motto, E Pluribus Unum, from many, One, is not a celebration of diversity, but rather a celebration of the creation of a new thing from a bunch of old ones.
Culture can only persist by one generation passing it along to the next.
From biblical times to Greek city state philosophers – the value of teaching the young was well understood. Plato simplified this into two fundamental questions, who will teach the young and what will they teach.
The Left understands this too and is systematically deconstructing Western Civilization in order to reconstruct society in their image. One doesn’t have to look too deep into our education system to see from Pre-K to Post grad they are succeeding.
Think about that and heed the words of the modern day philosopher equivalents Crosby Stills Nash & Young and ‘teach your children well’.
(Well perhaps CSN&Y was writing from the perspective of the Left…the fundamental truth of their statement remains)
Or you could heed Biblical admonition in Proverbs 8, as wisdom is personified:
32 “Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.
36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death.”
My middle school daughter is in gifted classes at school. Recently at dinner I said something to the effect that men are stronger than women. She totally disagreed and argued with me how it wasn't so. That is how bad the brainwashing has become. Despite the obvious. I finally convinced her, but it is so scary how thorough the brainwashing is!
I agree completely about sharing your viewpoint and values regularly with your children, and let them know what you think about what's going on in the world. You can be sure that their teachers are doing the same at school.
There are lots of education choices these days, so it's worth looking into all your choices. Here are a few:
1) Traditional schools - many public school districts offer a 'Traditional' choice. Usually, there's a waiting list for these.
2) Charter schools - lots of choice here.
3) Private schools - both religious and secular.
4) Homeschooling
Don't expect a school to change. It's up to you to find a school that works for your children and family. At one time or another, I have tried out all of the above with my daughter.
And for those that feel they can't afford private school, I have to say, "Look into it anyway." Many of them offer significant financial aid.
On the issue of "sexual questioning", I would argue that it is quite frequent, particularly among teenagers (although that is not quite the same thing as being "normal").
That fact may be one of many reasons why so many traditional societies have formalized rituals for transitioning young people from children to adults. Those coming-of-age rites inevitably include strong messages regarding gender roles and sex as being fundamental aspects of adulthood; and remind the young person that, while gender was not a critical aspect for the individual as a child, it is a critical aspect of the individual as an adult.
It may be the steady disappearance of such rituals (so many of them being so closely tied to religion) that is resulting in sexual confusion having significant behavioral implications and persisting long into adulthood. In previous generations, with a clear transition to adulthood and a conscious acceptance of gender roles provided by society, sexual confusion would have been short-lived regardless of its frequency.
I wouldn't argue that 'sexual questioning' is frequent among teenagers. How could you possibly prove this to be true. In today's society where teenagers have most likely been exposed to songs, ads, movies, t.v. shows and educational experiences with sexual content there is no way of knowing how healthy their development would have been if they had less exposure to sexual content. 150 years ago there were social norms in this country and most European countries meant to protect children from complex adult issues which would detract from their ability to develop into healthy adults. That's not to say that they weren't exposed to the vicissitudes of the daily lives of farm animals, but adults went to great lengths to maintain their own dignity and the dignity of their children.
If you study child development you learn that boys imprint very strongly sexually. This makes a lot of sense when you think of human beings in terms of the animal they are. If a human male imprints strongly with his first sexual experience and bonds with the female involved he is more likely to stay with her throughout a pregnancy, provide for her and his offspring, and fight to the death for her if need be. If he has had multiple sexual partners and done some unnatural experimentation he is less likely to be committed in subsequent relationships and more likely to carry unsavory STDs. This bodes poorly for subsequent generations and societal survival in societies that promote promiscuity and sexual 'experimentation.' For that reason, less exposure to sexual content in general, and no exposure to homosexual content or any information which may lead a young person to feel confused about their sexual identity would be optimal.
John Adams was a great man, but a great father? Abigail ("Nabby") went to debtor's prison, Charles and Thomas has alcohol problems. John Quincy was the only one who had children. Just sayin'.
Parents are only responsible for their children while they are under their direct control. That is why when a child misbehaves in a store you say he reflects badly on his parents.
Once they leave the nest they're on their own and it doesn't matter how well they've been taught if they don't follow the teachings. Kids are more than just a reflection of their environment. They are born into the world with some predispositions and they have the power to choose their own actions. Nearly all will make some mistakes. Some will make a lot of big ones, and some were just no damned good to start with. That's not their parents' fault.
Merle Haggard said it pretty well in, "Momma Tried." The relevent lyrics are, "Momma tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied, and that leaves only me to blame 'cause Momma tried."
At some point past adolescence, what you do or don't do is your own damned fault; not momma's, or daddy's or society's. So leave John Adams alone.
Abigail and John Adams had 17 grandchildren. Nabby had 4 children, John Quincy also had 4, Charles had 2 and Thomas had 7. Nabby never went to prison, debtor or otherwise. People can become alcoholics even though they have wonderful parents.
Don't be sayin' what you don't be knowin'
Just in case you need a link, here's one of many: External Link
The only thing I disagree with is the characterization of parochial schools as somehow being superior to public schools. I wasted the money on parochial schools, and the curriculum was just as liberal and the environment actually more materialistic and pop culture driven than the local public schools. If only I had known.
