Food for Thought

[Jim Herrmann]

On Tuesday 05 November 2002 11:11 pm, L. Adrian Griffis wrote:

> I'm sure this remark was well intended, Jim, but it seems contrary to
> everything I know about children and human nature.  If you teach a
> child that these pictures are bad and that the child is not allowed
> to see them, you will simply elevate the child's fascination with
> these forbidden pictures.  One might argue that a good moral education
> will take hold as the child grows older, but I think it is a very rare
> teenager who is more willing to follow the rules in his teens than he
> was when he was a younger child.
>
> <rant>
> Further, teaching a child that all nude pictures are bad is at
> best a thoughtless act, and at worst is an act of moral cowardice.
> Like all other animals on this planet, we are endowed a sex drive.
> Part of learning to live with this sex drive should be learning
> the difference between healthy and unhealthy manifestations of
> that sex drive.  When you teach a child that all manifestations
> of one's sex drive are dirty and sinful, you are failing to teach
> the child the differences between a healthy and an unhealthy
> attitude about sex.  There nothing dirty or unhealthy about mere
> nudity (Are we really the only species who's offspring are
> damaged, somehow, by the sight of our own form?  Such an idea is
> silly, superstitious nonsense).  But there is something wrong with
> a picture that is clearly designed to reduce a human being to a
> depersonalized thing.  A parent who fails to teach his or her
> child the difference is NOT giving that child a good moral
> education.
> </rant>
>
> Adrian

I think you are making my point, which I apparently didn't make clear.  
Perhaps you didn't read the other paragraphs.  We, the parents of the 
children, need to take responsibility for teaching our children right vs. 
wrong, i.e. morals.  It's not the state's (school's) job to be responsible 
for the morality of our children.  Unfortunately, way too many people in this 
country are far too willing to cede that responsibility.  While I agree with 
you about sexuality being natural, it is not my place to decide what someone 
else teaches their children any more is it anyone else's place to decide what 
I teach mine.

We need to return to the tribal ways of approaching society.  Everything in 
this culture is about me, me, me, how can I get ahead.  Noone wants to do 
what's best for the tribe, or even consider the opinions of the tribal 
leaders.  The tribes are few a far between.  We need a new tribal revolution.  
Tribes don't have a drug abuse problem, or serial killers, or rapists, or 
other deviants.  People who are connected to a tribe grow up knowing the 
rules.  We have substituted packs and gangs for tribes.

Oh well.  Tribal thinking is WAY beyond the grasp of the average American.  
Americans can't even get off their sorry asses and vote for chrisakes.  I'm 
so pissed right now.