It's been a well-intentioned process by the more compassionate female
of the species. And so it is that here in the 21st C, fathers have
largely joined mothers in immunizing their children from failure! from
defeat! from loss of any kind!
Now look, when mommy hugs the
boo-boo's, that's perfectly natural and wonderful. But lately, mommy has
convinced daddy, teacher, cop and neighbor that kids must be protected
at all costs. For only then can they grow up to feel loved and valued
and fulfilled. What's come of this conviction...?
PE classes
where no one loses...contests where everyone wins...grades in which
there are never any F's...life in which there is always a hand to
immunize the little tyke from the pain of pain. The more sophisticated
the parents, the more likely pain has been flushed out of those
protected lives.
So far the results are not yet in. If the old
harsh, no-pain-no-gain culture bred a legion of John Wayne's and Clint
Eastwood's, this current no-pain-all-gain ethos is bringing us a
generation of sensitivity. Empathy. Accessibility. What for heaven's
sake could be wrong with that...?
All I know is my old football
coach and master sergeant wouldn't like it. Or understand it. But then I
also know their culture of ass-kicking linebackers and missile-firing
warriors has left my grandchildren a much lousier world than it might
have been. If you're raising kids, guess that makes you "The Decider!"
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