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When I was asked to become a writer for
Forces I was very flattered. I also immediately received “writer’s block”.
The idea of being expected to submit articles on a regular basis was
frightening. For two days I sat in my chair wondering what to write about
and hoping what I wrote about would meet the criteria of Forces.
The two days have now passed, and this is the
third article I have written today. The ideas are just flowing! Also, the
responses I have received from you readers have been inspirational. As Dean
Martin used to say, “Keep those cards and letters coming.”
“The children now love luxury; they have bad
manners, contempt for authority; they allow disrespect for elders and love
chatter in place of exercise. Children now are tyrants, not the servants of
their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the
table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
If we add “watch TV all day, play video games
constantly, pick their noses, and have drive-by shootings.” to the above
quotation, we would be describing the young people of today. The above quote
is attributed to Socrates.
Our young people have not changed – we have.
And we blame it on our educational system. We have passed laws prohibiting
discipline and affection. In the education field these are called negative
and positive motivators. They are the only motivators educators have. We
have also removed a class called philosophy. This class is now available on
a post-secondary level (after the student has developed their own
philosophy) but not on an elementary level (when the students are attempting
to establish their own philosophy).
About a quarter of a century ago, there was a
song written which had a verse that said, “Everyone needs a philosophy to
live by. Don’t live it up if you can’t live it down.”
In our attempts to establish an educational
system void of religion, sexual harassment, and prejudices, we have
established and educational system which no longer provides our students
with the alternatives necessary to develop a good philosophy of living. They
are forced to choose a philosophy provided on the streets.
The next time you see a newscast describing
an atrocity committed by one of our young people, stop and think how many
classes we are offering regarding a philosophy to live by. |
