The driver of tomorrow is not thinking Green...

The driver of tomorrow is not thinking Green...
He's thinking Classic. (click on photo)

Followers

Oct 6, 2012

Boys are - boys.

Matt told me a story he heard on John Curley last night about a teenage boy who shot & killed his mom and sister. Something to do with being talked to rudely and treated badly. I am not condoning the killing one iota but it made me sad & reflect on our own household interactions of of all girls and one boy & my interaction in classrooms, watching the male/female structure. 
 I am a female, obviously - yet instead of siding with the female wiles & ways, I have repeatedly been angered by girls in general are snotty, rude and catty to boys. We treat them like they are stupid from a very young age & females act superior. This is not very smart in adolescence when a boy is attempting to become a man and doesn't want to put up with your vile tongue any longer. You might just get punched. But what happens? The girls are not disciplined for their rudeness and snide comments. They are considered cute & assertive! No, the boy is punished for his natural physical aggression. 
Girls rule the day, the classroom, the home and boys are constantly, for years on end, subjected to nastiness, hurt by verbal lashing and then punished for pushing back. And us women, teachers in the classroom, lead this behavior - by our own personal example sometimes - or the constant unspoken expectation that boys will be more like girls. But we want strong men? How's that working for us?

Oct 1, 2012

The rights of the Offended

I've noticed discussion re:the problem of non accountability in our youth & making them feel good (everyone gets a trophy, don't deliver flowers to students in the schools on someones birthday because everyone else might have their feelings hurt) - and the growing loss of fostering hard work & growth. We've gone a  little overboard.

It occurred to me yesterday we are fertilizing this in spades amongst adults.  For example, the idea of forgiveness is not connected with any responsibility of the offender. The onus is on the victim to forgive but not on the offender to make restitution.  Everyone is inherently "good".  Really?  We are inherently selfish creatures.

I realized the church is a perpetrator of this growing problem.  i.e. spouse forgive injury or indiscretion because Christ shows you mercy. Children forgive abuse because Christ forgave you. Business owner forgive your employees theft, because what more has Christ done for you by giving you his life?

Ever read the Bible & God's punishment for non compliance?  Yea, it's called death.  And HELL.  Sugar coating it with absolute Grace, mixed with no accountability is not going to prepare people for the purported Biblical consequence of it all.  For those that speak out the Grace afforded by Jesus and the New Testament, Revelations is in the New Testament.  Consequence.

This is not only a church, but a societal problem - Americans have become coddlers in our easy way of life.  If we were still tilling the ground with blood sweat & tears, leaning on each other & community to survive, we wouldn't be coddling grown adults.  We'd smack 'em & say "grow up, get over yourself, be responsible" because we're all going to die if you don't do your part.  Alcoholics Anonymous or now known as AA, I do believe is a good institution but I also consider the enabling aspects of "don't hate the addict, hate the act".  At what point is the expectation for the addict to stop and restore what they've broken?

The victims are asked to forgive, don't hold a grudge. Grudges only hurt the victim. No death penalty for an evil offense (oops! Don't call them evil, that's not "nice").  Instead society carries the financial weight of the offense forever, until money runs out & we put them back on the streets.

NO!  It feels good, which is okay, when someone suffers a consequence of their poor choice.  If you in cold blood murder my loved one, I stand for seeing your life ended.  It's just punishment.  And a grudge sometimes is the natural human consequence to the offenders behavior.  Sometimes making sure that person pays for what they've done, should be the outcome and IS acceptable.  Our society has given power & rights to the criminals, the offenders, the cheaters, the liars, the users - in this feel "good" turn we've taken.

Just perhaps, our society would have less dependent, self centered, non producing civilians if we stopped coddling and expected a little bit more personal integrity & accountability.


So if it's your birthday, I don't expect to receive flowers.  If you work hard and buy my dream car, I don't expect to have one delivered to my driveway too.  If your house is bigger, better than mine, I suspect you probably somehow earned it - or luck was on your side.  And if I hurt you, I expect that you might be angry for a long time.  That's YOUR right as the offended.
 

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