Guarding against brainwashing

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You tend to get flashes of gun fire, bombs exploding, people scurrying for petrol, food shortages and so on. Maybe it’s just due to over-imagination.

Anyway, seven years may seem like a short time span, but in today’s society a lot can happen – a lot of bad things.

And my interest is not because I am a sci-fi fan, it is because, by early next year, I will be a father, so it is only natural to consider what kind of world one’s child will have to face.

I would love to have a time machine and zip forward into the future, but I fear if we see how the world will have changed, we might lose our minds.

It might also drive us to consume some sort of alcoholic beverage beyond the proposed 0.02 limit — more on that later.

The seven year time frame should be quite obvious – by then my child will have to attend school and begin his arduous journey of 12 years to become educated, in order to cope in this crazy world.

And, if we consider what kind of education he might receive, well, let us just say one doesn’t get a warm feeling of joy.

Quite frankly, I am generally not over-optimistic about where society is heading, and neither I am optimistic about the prospect of sending my child to any form of formal schooling, private or state.

After all, if headmasters and teachers are involved in child porn, how safe is your child?

Apart from the danger aspect, I also fear the prospects of children being brainwashed to except without argument the beliefs and norms of the corporate – in this case the government.

We live in a time where schools have to teach children to be religious tolerant and to embrace the changing universal morality of the western world.

This leaves one in a dilemma in my personal opinion, because I have to hope there are still those in this country who hold strong to their values, norms and beliefs. And thus, they want their children to grow up according to such standards.

And we are not talking here about being racist or being fanatical.

It is about defending what one believes in to be right and true, even though it might clash horribly with the corporate system.

Once a child is introduced into a system where the corporate yardstick of morality is upheld, then the child will be influenced beyond the parent’s control.

I am voicing these concerns as someone who is looking at the situation for various points of experience and knowledge.

I grew up in Europe, so I know the dangers of liberalism versus conservatism.

As someone involved in ministry, I also know the dangers of abandoning one’s spiritual roadmap by following different compasses.

I can voice my opinion, for I have worked among inmates at the correctional services, dealt with the youth and I have seen what happens to a country where a strong moral stance has been abandoned in the quest for moral relativism.

As someone involved in the media, and again based on other experiences, I know the dangers that are out there, that face the youth, such as the drug problem, and how easily children can be drawn into a macabre world of sex and addiction.

This is the reality that the youth of today face and, quite frankly, it is only going to get worse.

Let us take the example the matter of enforcing discipline.

Government wants to ban spanking, but, personally, discipline is good. I did spend a few years in different SA schools, and I did not turn into some kind of monster for being disciplined.

Sure, years ago some teachers would take their frustration out on the children and beat them half to death. But discipline should have its place at home and in society (when enforced properly and in fairness), otherwise welcome to lawlessness and outright rebellion.

This country has already taken away compulsory military conscription. Many will still vouch to this system working, teaching the youth about responsibility, respect, and about law and order.

These days rebellion is rife. Anything goes.

The youth is out control, while society as a whole is being left to evolve any way it deems fit.

Thus, you have the problem of those who still believe in discipline, while the government wants to enforce non-discipline. These are two different worlds and have far-reaching consequences when imposed.

I will always remain old-fashioned, or shall we say old school.

The world tells us to change with the times, but I certainly don’t want myself or my child to change with the times, when the times are taking us over a cliff and into an abyss of uncertainty.

And who ever said old-fashioned is wrong? It has become wrong and “old” because the “corporate” has labelled it so.

It is the same with fashion. The “corporate” fashion world tells society what is fashionable and what is not – where is the individual point of view and belief in its own view of beauty?

I have to believe there are still parents who hold a point of view that it is not such a good idea for children to grow up with smart phones and game consoles.

I still believe in the power of literacy (do children read anymore?), the power of art (how many children actually paint just for the fun of it), and the art of being creative (how about playing outside and then finding a way to amuse yourself?).

Old-fashioned indeed, and maybe it many’s opinion stale morals and beliefs, but I would rather defend as far as a I can my child’s upbringing according to personal values and norms that oppose the wayward values of the corporate.

For this reason, it could be that parents might in the future opt more for home schooling and we might see more mothers stay at home (sacrificing the career), all for the sake of the child.

After all, if we cannot uphold some sort of individuality, then our society becomes a landscape of corporate drones.