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The political, economic and
religious ideals that our civilization imposes
upon our children have a great influence upon
them. Gradually, our society continues to turn
up the heat on these falsely implied ideals. We
put our children in a pressure cooker, add all
that we believe they should become, lock the
lid, and wait the prescribed amount of time to
cook, all the time stoking the fire with our
expectations. Tragically we often underestimate
the capacity within and the pot explodes,
releasing its contents in a natural reaction to
the circumstances and pressure at hand.
Sometimes the cook (society) is injured, but if
he is wise, he will learn from his
mistakes.
Seeking freedom
from religious persecution, people from all
around the world migrated to this country. This
freedom was written into our Constitution,
however from the initial conception of these
beliefs, upon which our nation was founded, a
few people have sought to manipulate those
rights away from us. Today’s industrial giants
drive our economy with a well-honed political
wedge, cloaked in the illusion of marketing. P.
T. Barnum was right when he said, "There is a
sucker born every minute." Does Barnum’s
statement give us either the license (using our
economic consciousness) or the right to use
this against our children? Would they not, some
day grow up to teach their own children the
same thing? I read somewhere that the average
child spends more time watching TV than he
spends in school. No wonder these kids want
everything under the sun. Sadly, many of their
parents give in to them, either out of a lack
of self-discipline, or the fear of governmental
intervention in their methods of
discipline.
Global
communications have now plugged into the once
isolated regions of the earth. Where previously
primitive communities lived peacefully, they
now freely receive the "benefits" of the
calculated sword of media, driven by political
economics. Hollywood, the once hailed entity
that was to bring culture, drama and education
to the world, now delivers auspiciously,
multi-million dollar movies about sex,
violence, crime, and the fear of extinction.
Our adult society advocates these films by
nonchalantly allowing our children to view them
at their own leisure, repeatedly. Though some
of these films may have a valid point to make,
a child can not be expected to understand the
emotional aspects of the characters, which they
cheer on. Watching some one else swim looks
easy until you try it for the first time.
However, if you cannot touch the bottom, you
will learn something, discovering either how to
swim, or die in a panic by drowning. This is no
doubt the result.
Attached to the
tentacle of the media are the fingers of
religion and the glove of spirituality. What a
powerful tool the intangible is in the hands of
a knowledgeable man. With the best intentions,
religions around the world try to convince you
(and your children) that they know the only
answer. Not only will they tell you that you
are incapable of understanding the utmost
secret doctrines, but religious leaders often
imply that if one follows the interpretation of
another mans vision, you too can share the same
vision. In this way, we set up our minds to
embrace the intangible, as taught to us by one
who claims that the concept of a supreme entity
or entities are tangible, and pass our ideals
on to our children. Like Pavlov’s Dog, our
culture salivates through the motions of
ritual, and upon receiving the spiritual
biscuit, savoring it consciously trying to
discern its flavor. No wonder our children and
young adults choose atheism or fall back into
ancient traditions of paganism and occult
studies. It is these beliefs, which are
possibly older than writing itself, that
surface when other forms of religion are forced
upon a mind that is full of the "I’m the only
truth, and all else is a lie."
mentality.
We emphasize and
encourage educational standards as determined
by our government (the one that insures our
economic success). Over the course of the
millennia, the pursuit of knowledge has been at
a premium, and educating the individual mind
encompasses an interactive study between wise
men. Although attaining this knowledge did not
guarantee material wealth, it gave a sense of
satisfaction by understanding the complexity of
simplicity. Today, we compete to conceive
perfect devices, intended to make our existence
easier, and give ourselves more time to do as
we please. This concept drives home the idea
that the more education we acquire, the more
free time we will have. We literally buy into
this goal of attaining the highest level of
knowledge (if we have the money); so that our
government can take the largest possible share
of our earned income taxes and we sill have
more time. Only now, are our children beginning
to have the insight (through one of the
benefits of media) that money and material
possessions do not insure happiness and peace
of mind. Many of today’s young adults have
chosen to remove themselves from the "normal"
means of social order, and tag themselves to
the retro concepts of the trends of the sixties
and the era of free love.
Today’s children
idolize film and music personalities with the
hope that some special wisdom will be
transferred to their hungry minds, to replace
the diminishing role of mentors who used to
impart their own unique perspective and wisdom.
Repeatedly, through the millennia, humanity has
used natural drugs to break through the
concepts that have restricted their minds with
definitive language. Things have not changed to
this day. Children and young adults still
experiment with drugs to break through the
false conceptions and search for purpose.
Without the shamans, or knowledgeable teachers,
young people become addicted to a multitude of
drugs in a vain attempt to dissolve the
illusions that society has imprinted upon them.
Unfortunately, many never recover from these
addictions, and add to the burden on society,
helpless in the hands of psychologists and
psychiatrists who believe that there is
something deeply wrong with the human psyche.
Sadly the counselors they are correct but they
usually lack the insight to tell their patients
the truth because they too are blind from
traditional education.
What are
pressures that modern society imposes upon
young people, and how do these pressures
influence them? Are we, as an American society,
blind to the effects of our elected government
as it decides what should be our desired goals
in life? Has repetitious subliminal programming
drawn us away from our human desire to be
creative, caring, and conscious of an infinite
intelligence? Our social evolution is like a
rubber band, stretched to extremes. Will the
results be to recoil slowly until we have
settled back into an evolutionary oscillation
of development, or will the rubber band break,
and totally disrupt the present course of human
growth? Do the industrial economy, religion,
educational institutions, media, violence, loss
of mentors, and single-minded opinions of the
"successful life" pressure and influence
children? Like a vice, these ideals are
tightening up on the minds of our children and
young adults. I believe that answer to all
these questions is yes.
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