Monday, August 17, 2009

There Is Hope For Us Yet

So while I see many social conservatives and other traditional activists groups lamenting about how our feminized education system will produce nothing but pansies and weaklings instead of men, I have this story to share with you all:

My wife was helping out with Sunday School for the pre-school kids and they were serving the kids cookies.  There were three different kinds of cookies to pick from, Chips Ahoy, Nutter Butter, and Oreo.  One little girl, let us call her Leah, had one Oreo and found that there were no more.  She looked around and saw another little boy, let us call him Michael, with two Oreo cookies.  He had already gotten to them before she could, so he was able to benefit from the two cookies.  Realizing that she had one, she asked him to split the second one he had.  Michael refused.  Later on, Leah was crying about how there were no more Oreo cookies left as the Sunday School teacher did all she could to calm her down.  In the midst of her tantrum, she looked over at Michael and asked if he would share his Oreo cookie with her.  Michael shook his head no.  She asked again, of course and this time he proceeded to shove his cookie into his mouth.  He may as well have given her the bird.

Now, none of these kids are over four years old.  This does not mean that they have not been taught basic concepts of sharing.  But I think Michael was taught also that he does not have to share if he does not want to.  Especially when the person asking is being nothing more than an emotionally manipulative brat.  And we all behave that way at some point or another.  But at the same time, despite the clear manipulation, this boy knew how to conduct himself in the face of such misguided altruism better than most adults do.

That is what needs to be done when we are faced with emotional manipulation.  We need to stand up for ourselves and tell the manipulator that we will not take it.  In this case, the teacher had enough sense to not force the boy to share his cookie, especially when there were plenty of different cookies still left.  If I had been attending an Episcopal Church, I think the outcome would have been different.

I know this girl’s mother, though, and her mother will not put up with this kind of behavior.  In fact, when my wife told the story to her, she responded by saying that the boy deserved the cookie.  I would hope that this girl is taught to accept what is given to her with joy and to never try and steal from others while claiming a need.  I am sure her mother is working on it as best she can.

This really reflects the attitudes of the supporters of the welfare state.  They see a supposed need and they assume that those who have should give to the supposed “have-nots.”  I remember walking to work in Old Town Alexandria near the projects and seeing kids walking to school with their latest designer clothing and cell phones.  Meanwhile, there parents would hang out laundry on a clothesline because they did not have a dryer.  Usually, the supposed poverty in America is nothing more than misplaced priorities.

I would hope that this boy does not get tainted by the liberal lie that we all have to share.  I remember being taught to share when I was growing up and now I see nothing but a bunch of “victims” wanting me to share my money or face imprisonment.  But I take solace in the fact that this kid had yet to be tainted by such foolishness.