Re: Individual Rights

[Bob Hoffmann <escape@alt-escape.com>]

At 09:22 PM 6/6/2002 -0700, Mike Rush wrote:
>I agree with your assertion that all of us are teaching our young to be
>rebellious and immoral by our own actions.  All you have to do to see this
>is look at the families whose childern are respectful and those who are not.
>I would postulate that very few disrespectful children come from respectful,
>disciplining parents.

My parents raised seven different children, with a huge difference in 
personalities and extent of respect for themselves, their parents, and 
their societies.

I think it's safe to say that it is commonly agreed in psychology and 
sociology that children are not blank slates upon which the parents 
write.  We each develop in the womb and are born into the world with our 
own personalities and attitudes.  It is definitely possible to exert an 
influence on a person's development.  But some people very adeptly resist 
such attempts and can practice a type of developmental Tai Chi--whichever 
direction you try to move them, they move another way.  The ultimate 
challenge of parents is not to mold a child like a lump of clay, but to 
love children regardless of the way they grow up.


Bob Hoffmann
846 Mabelle St.
Moscow, ID  83843

Tel: 208 883-0642