From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Date: Wed Feb 24 1999 - 12:52:39 MST
Harvey Newstrom wrote:
> den Otter <neosapient@geocities.com> wrote:
> > I'd have no problem with outlawing the indoctrination of children
> > with anything else than rationalism and critical thought. Given
> > the damage that religion and related dogmas have done to
> > individuals
> [...snip...]
> > I think this in itself somewhat coercive measure could
> > be fully justified. Ultimately it would improve everyone's situation,
> > after all.
>
> Don't you realize that this is the same view held by the religious
> nuts?....
> Why is your position any better than the conservative desire to outlaw
> the teaching of evolution and limit teaching to just the Bible? Is it
> because you're belief system is true and theirs is false? Do we really
> want to outlaw the teaching of wrong theories? Won't this lead to the
> State being run by Thought Police?
Exactly. Freedom means the right to be stupid. Only by giving all the right
to be stupid by themselves can we learn what is true wisdom. In the case of
parents and children, most people recognise that children are in fact
remarkably resilient creatures. The idea of the brittle child is a false one
promulgated by people with agendas of their own. This is why parents are
given a modicum of leeway in the raising of their children, because
ignorance is always something which can be rectified. Far greater damage is
done by teaching children that the state can be manipulated into overruling
parents who are doing their jobs.
I don't beleive for a minute the statistics promulgated by the so-called
child rights special interests. They also claim that thousands of children
are being killed by accidental use of firearms, when in fact, in the past 35
years, only 31 children (9 and under) have died as a result of accidental
discharge of firearms in the US, and almost all of those were a result of
improper storage of the firearm by the owner.
Where do they get their stats then? First, they classify 'children' as
anyone under the age of 25! This includes all military and police personnel
under the age of 25, which brings in the injuries and deaths from freindly
fire in combat and crime scene situations. If police get a false tip from an
informer with which they justify storming your house, and they shoot you or
a member of your family, then it is classified as an accidental discharge in
the home!!! (this is where the stat that police are 5 times more likely to
kill an innocent civilian in a crime scene contributes to the so-called
child death rate).
Mike
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:03:08 MST