W h i p n

racism

SPARE THE ROD?

If you know my philosophy about child rearing, then you know that I like to say, "Don't spare the rod, bend The Sapling while it's young. " It's been my considered belief that children have the right to remain silent until, spoken to, and I have been unprepared to accept any debate on the subject.

While listening to a talk show, I heard a group of parents, who sounded like me. They were saying that their parents whipped them, and that stern discipline worked for them and there was no reason to change directions, just because a bunch of psychologists are trying to rewrite the rules and hand over rights to children where before there had been none.

I couple of days later, I was looking at some History type channel documentary, and there were some rednecks making almost the same speech concerning "negras…"

Suddenly my resolve was shaken. I heard myself sounding just like a redneck, when it came to allowing rights to somebody. I have been using the same rational about the good old days, and how indentured servitude worked to raise me, and should be good enough for my kids. In the modern world of the new millennium, is there no place for the traditional parent child relationship? Is there such a thing as institutionalized parenting, that parallels, institutionalized racism. Do I need to retool my authoritative, autocratic relationship with the kids?

Well, the saga goes on, because just a few days later, while I was still considering becoming a more sensitive man of the '90's, I heard another talk show. This time the subject was animal rights. The speaker was making an eloquent point about how we should not be killing and eating our furry friends, and wearing their nice pelts. She rejects my right to own a pet husky, and parade him around the neighborhood on a leash. She even invoked the "civil rights" model to support her position. That's when I realized that the blade of the pendulum was on the move again. As I have said before, "The Worst Thing That Ever Had To Happen In America Was The Civil Rights Movement." So deeply ingrained in America's psyche is it's hatred for minorities, that in order to justify a little human compassion, we have to allow humanity to extend to any living thing.

I once read the writing of Wei Wu Wei, an eastern sage. I believe that it was he who said, "I cannot attain nirvana until each blade of grass is at peace…."