Hi Tomtbieter wrote:You missed the point. I was commenting on the concept of personal responsibility, a concept that is foreign to teen-agers and teachers.
Carl died because of his lack of self-control and his stupidity. Only Carl, his parents and his elementary school teachers are blameworthy for his death.
Let's not stop there... Dr. Spock, the law and Freud are also to blame for the stupidity of society. Dr. Spock because he championed a new era where it became frowned upon to give a little spank on the bottom to your children and Freud who brought a wave of amateur psychologists who live on a diet of dysfunctional suspicion, frustration with their lack of power, egotistically selfish and self centered, hero wanna-be's who think they know it all but lack the compassion and integrity to admit that perhaps someone knows better.
I don't know all the answers...but I do know before I had kids I would have fought you on this, Tom. I would have said it was the police officer's fault. But now, it's hard for me to lay blame...because the police officer is a product of our insane environment as well...just like Carl.
People just have a hard time knowing the difference between right and wrong...because as we have seen...even doing the seemingly "right" thing...like time outs, stricter laws in order to deter crime, psychological "help" has not fixed the mental problems of society...in fact I think we are worse for the wear. So I could not begin to argue with you here as you may have a point about self control and how leniency in punishment may undermine a happy and well adjusted life.