[lit-ideas] Re: T'AINT FUNNY, MCGEE

  • From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 23:48:18 -0500

It's not that complicated.  Two parents of opposite sexes (kids need a mom 
*and* a dad) who get along with each other, who get their needs met by each 
other, who don't ask the kid to be confidant or friend or hero or mommy's 
little brain surgeon or any other thing.  Who give him/her space and 
acceptance.  Things along those lines.  When a kid is treated with respect, he 
learns respect for others because we give what we have.  Giving respect to 
others is called morality.  Sitting down and teaching morality doesn't work.  
Modeling is the most powerful way to teach by far.  Sitting down and teaching, 
unless it's facts in a classroom, is called brainwashing.  It's crazy making.  
The very fact that people can't agree on what parenting is shows the extent to 
which humans are clueless.  Needing to protect children from being tortured or 
from witnessing torture or witnessing violence shows is as basic as air yet in 
much of the world, including the U.S., it's not available.  When pare
 nts yell and scream, it traumatizes the kid.  Etc. etc.  Can mankind be as bad 
as all that?  No, mankind is wonderful.  We're the most civilized country in 
the world and we fought to have slavery, and 200 years later we started a 
pointless war.  No, mankind is wonderful.  


----- Original Message ----- 
From: 
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 12/8/2006 11:21:17 PM 
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: T'AINT FUNNY, MCGEE


Okay.  Let's say that the world could implement good parenting universally.  
Who is given to choose what "good parenting" looks like?  I'm suspecting there 
might, just conceivably, be a few differences of opinion out there on the 
subject....  What if part of humankind's obsession with religion is a search 
for some sort of objective valuation that acts as a moral compass to determine 
for a given culture what societal issues like "good parenting" look like?  A 
way of reaching out for something w/ a higher authority than each Mom and Dad 
warring for "my way is the REAL good parenting"?  Many husbands and wives can't 
even come to an agreement.   Most communities agree that children should not be 
soldiers, children should not be tortured (of course, even our state govt has 
trouble figuring out what constitutes torture), children should not be 
threatened with death....   In the absence of religion, where is an generally 
decided on moral value to come from?  The inherent human insti
 nct?  Or conversely, if the human instinct is so driven to seek a morality, 
can humankind be as bad as you see it?

Julie Krueger
wandering around the edges of old ground

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