I actually feel bad for them because they have no control over what's going on around them as children, and that line between child and adult concerns has melted away, unfortunately.
Bravo Adam. An idea grows from a small seed and I hope those seeds you planted take root in those children some day. A very worthy way to spend your time. Thank you for taking the time to do that and share your opinion in a calm, reasoned, adult manner. You taught them so much. Well done.
James Lindsay explains in his videos on why kids are political. US educators imported the theories of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian who attempted to teach peasants to read while radicalizing them on how to liberate themselves from their circumstances. His concept, though wrong, were understandable given their circumstances. I subscribe to the database Academia and often receive an email asking if I want to read the paper "Paulo Freire - Now More than Ever!" I can't get past the first paragraph as I see the devastation from his theories everywhere. Kids are angry and they see white privilege as the reason. Since history isn't taught they have no idea that the poor Europeans arrived in floating coffins where 1/3 died en route and they were put into slums where children worked. Karl Marx was writing about such dire circumstances in England - not Latin America.
A friend who is half white and half latina told me her white relatives almost died of starvation during the depression. They were from Oklahoma, and no one wanted the poor ignorant desperate people. Interestingly, Oklahoma had only become a state a few years earlier. The Smithsonian ran an article about the Tulsa tragedy that happened only a few years after its formation. In one paragraph it described how the Nation Magazine heralded it as so 'progressive.' Black business leaders went to see Teddy Roosevelt fearing the state's formation. I was confused at the passage as there was no context given. After reading Frederick Douglass's autobiography and understanding the Democratic party was a slave party that continued to harass Black people and Republicans in the South following the Civil War, the reference makes sense. I wonder if progressive 'centralized' policies of Oklahoma led to it becoming a dust bowl and people fleeing the state.
What is worse is that the Silicon titans admit our education system is abysmal so they will just import their needs from abroad. So while these kids fester in hate and despair, someone from a 2nd or 3rd world country is readying themselves for a job here. The end result is a permanent lower class. Frederick Douglass knew that his masters wanted to deprive him of the best of a Western education to keep him both his body and mind enslaved. It is astonishing that this system continues under the guise of compassion.
I am very hopeful due to the fact the teens were respectful towards you, even when they disagreed. Perhaps they can teach the adults how to listen and ask questions while leaving the nastiness aside.
The political awareness of our younger liberal kids did not have to become a problem. The main problem is kids are taught that leftist viewpoints are "truths" to be imposed in an authoritarian aggressive manner on other people, meaning that persistent dissenters are to be destroyed. I strongly suspect that if the speaker had been a white man instead of a black man there would have been a much less restrained hostile reaction to what he said.
Adult problems are encroaching on kids in ways that were not an issue when I was a kid (I was born in 1979).
I have noticed the politicisation as well, everything is a tool for manipulation. The whole “state your pronouns” nonsense, and all the weird social programming stuff wasn’t an issue in my youth.
Kids can’t be kids for very long unfortunately. The manipulators want to start influencing people’s perceptions as early in life as possible.
Hopefully your writing will help them to see through the nonsense, and focus on what matters.
I relate & can say I wasn't interested in politics (or current events) as an adolescent.
Kids absorb what their relatives rant about though, and if their communities are emotionally charged and ranting (let's say, about white people, reparations, or being entitled to lifetime government support) then kids see who is most influential/powerful in their communities and are attracted to those viewpoints. Teens want to create respect for themselves in a broader hierarchy, and are very impressionable to those within their immediate circles deemed 'powerful.' It's sad because emotionalism has become indoctrination, and seems to have a lifetime effect. They see outrage as powerful, instead of self-defeating. The outrage feels artificial though, like a sleight of hand to distract from underachieving.
My kids were taught emotions are toddlers and the brain is the parent. The brain must always manage the emotions. Provide appropriate releases for emotions when they need it, sure, but appropriate. The parent brain keeps control.
Seems like cultures which would rather accept handouts than be held responsible to provide for themselves, give free-reign to emotions. It's like they'd rather be 'outraged' and act like they're being held back than turn off the assistance and go become something productive.
As a single mom, I would tell my kids why we did not seek assistance because it would strip away my ambition to achieve and provide. (We did temporarily receive it when the kids were small, although I turned it off quick before a dependency mindset set in).
I don't know what the answer is. It seems like more of a poverty issue than a race issue, since many poor white people share the same challenges. Yet the mindset and indoctrination of black Americans isn't limited to the poverty communities, it seems more far-reaching.
So I don't know why they can't put pressure within for accountability to be productive and set aside self-defeating patterns.
And irrational hatred and overt racism against whites cannot exactly attract God's blessing in their communities either. (I once attended a community college graduation ceremony to cheer on a friend who was graduating. Looking for a seat, I walked by an older black woman who spit out a hateful comment, something truly vile against me. That level of spontaneous HATE against a white stranger is beyond shocking.)
Very interesting. We are living in a strange time where so often, children are treated like adults whilst adults are coddled like children. It's created a lot of problems, as you know.
Very much so. The problem is getting worse and worse. I hope more people read my book and recognize the ills of turning children into miniature adults who feel responsible for adult problems.
You can do so much good by talking to young people. If you get another chance or chances, do it again. They are political because they're being taught (in some cases, indoctrinated) to be political at school. Share your viewpoint with them. It makes a difference more than you might think.
Rotary (RYLA - Rotary Youth Leadership Academy) is another good organization that gets speakers to talk to young people. Maybe there's one in your area. I think you and your story have a great deal to offer these kids.
Well handled! I'm thankful that the teacher had the good sense to provide an alternative voice to what these kids usually hear.
The challenge is that parents are whining and complaining about the government for their condition. Never in my 73 years has there been such mistrust of authority at every level of society. I often wonder who is fanning the flames.
Wow. What you did was really important. And kudos to the school that they let you speak freely. It is so sad that kids of that age are political, when they should be enjoying the only carefree portion of life: childhood. The experience stress because of this, and they can be manipulated because of that stress. It is like the breeding ground for the cultural revolution that happened in China. There is actual danger in having politicized, children, for so many reasons, but especially because they don’t have the reasoning skills to not allow their beliefs to vent in unhealthy emotional responses. Your response to George Floyd was especially well written and I really resonated with it. I hope that you do this more often, because you of all people have the credibility to speak in this space. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I would love to see you in a sit down with James. I remember 4 years ago taking a long drive and listening to James review Herbert Marcuse's Repressive Tolerance essay. I needed a long boring drive to listen to something that sounded like a foreign language because Marxism is its own language. Thanks to him and so many other lecturers, some from the the late 80s and early 90s, who have helped me understand the theories.
But that is why it would be such a useful interview. I knew zero about Marxism or Western philosophy. I liked Plato's Republic in college but I was truly ignorant. I somehow stumbled upon James and he provided the Rosetta Stone to understand the theories. I then went on to listen to many lectures on Western philosophy. So much of CRT is rooted in modern philosophy such as Rosseau. So I joke that the CRT people criticizing the philosophy of old dead white men is based on the philosophy of dead old white men. I now appreciate that a culture's philosophy is like a vessel that holds water. Some vessels are beautiful and enhance the water where other vessels are ugly and made with poisonous materials.
Bravo Adam. An idea grows from a small seed and I hope those seeds you planted take root in those children some day. A very worthy way to spend your time. Thank you for taking the time to do that and share your opinion in a calm, reasoned, adult manner. You taught them so much. Well done.
Thank you 😊
Sounds like an enjoyable day with our future generation. I applaud the school for letting you speak.
I trust your conversations will resonate with some of those youngsters, get them thinking rather reacting.
James Lindsay explains in his videos on why kids are political. US educators imported the theories of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian who attempted to teach peasants to read while radicalizing them on how to liberate themselves from their circumstances. His concept, though wrong, were understandable given their circumstances. I subscribe to the database Academia and often receive an email asking if I want to read the paper "Paulo Freire - Now More than Ever!" I can't get past the first paragraph as I see the devastation from his theories everywhere. Kids are angry and they see white privilege as the reason. Since history isn't taught they have no idea that the poor Europeans arrived in floating coffins where 1/3 died en route and they were put into slums where children worked. Karl Marx was writing about such dire circumstances in England - not Latin America.
A friend who is half white and half latina told me her white relatives almost died of starvation during the depression. They were from Oklahoma, and no one wanted the poor ignorant desperate people. Interestingly, Oklahoma had only become a state a few years earlier. The Smithsonian ran an article about the Tulsa tragedy that happened only a few years after its formation. In one paragraph it described how the Nation Magazine heralded it as so 'progressive.' Black business leaders went to see Teddy Roosevelt fearing the state's formation. I was confused at the passage as there was no context given. After reading Frederick Douglass's autobiography and understanding the Democratic party was a slave party that continued to harass Black people and Republicans in the South following the Civil War, the reference makes sense. I wonder if progressive 'centralized' policies of Oklahoma led to it becoming a dust bowl and people fleeing the state.
What is worse is that the Silicon titans admit our education system is abysmal so they will just import their needs from abroad. So while these kids fester in hate and despair, someone from a 2nd or 3rd world country is readying themselves for a job here. The end result is a permanent lower class. Frederick Douglass knew that his masters wanted to deprive him of the best of a Western education to keep him both his body and mind enslaved. It is astonishing that this system continues under the guise of compassion.
I am very hopeful due to the fact the teens were respectful towards you, even when they disagreed. Perhaps they can teach the adults how to listen and ask questions while leaving the nastiness aside.
Agree.
Alternative ideas and perspectives should be the fuel for respectful engagement rather then the fire igniting confrontation.
The political awareness of our younger liberal kids did not have to become a problem. The main problem is kids are taught that leftist viewpoints are "truths" to be imposed in an authoritarian aggressive manner on other people, meaning that persistent dissenters are to be destroyed. I strongly suspect that if the speaker had been a white man instead of a black man there would have been a much less restrained hostile reaction to what he said.
One can be politically aware and still be uneducated.
Indeed! Authoritarianism is antithetical to critical thinking.
Adult problems are encroaching on kids in ways that were not an issue when I was a kid (I was born in 1979).
I have noticed the politicisation as well, everything is a tool for manipulation. The whole “state your pronouns” nonsense, and all the weird social programming stuff wasn’t an issue in my youth.
Kids can’t be kids for very long unfortunately. The manipulators want to start influencing people’s perceptions as early in life as possible.
Hopefully your writing will help them to see through the nonsense, and focus on what matters.
I relate & can say I wasn't interested in politics (or current events) as an adolescent.
Kids absorb what their relatives rant about though, and if their communities are emotionally charged and ranting (let's say, about white people, reparations, or being entitled to lifetime government support) then kids see who is most influential/powerful in their communities and are attracted to those viewpoints. Teens want to create respect for themselves in a broader hierarchy, and are very impressionable to those within their immediate circles deemed 'powerful.' It's sad because emotionalism has become indoctrination, and seems to have a lifetime effect. They see outrage as powerful, instead of self-defeating. The outrage feels artificial though, like a sleight of hand to distract from underachieving.
My kids were taught emotions are toddlers and the brain is the parent. The brain must always manage the emotions. Provide appropriate releases for emotions when they need it, sure, but appropriate. The parent brain keeps control.
Seems like cultures which would rather accept handouts than be held responsible to provide for themselves, give free-reign to emotions. It's like they'd rather be 'outraged' and act like they're being held back than turn off the assistance and go become something productive.
As a single mom, I would tell my kids why we did not seek assistance because it would strip away my ambition to achieve and provide. (We did temporarily receive it when the kids were small, although I turned it off quick before a dependency mindset set in).
I don't know what the answer is. It seems like more of a poverty issue than a race issue, since many poor white people share the same challenges. Yet the mindset and indoctrination of black Americans isn't limited to the poverty communities, it seems more far-reaching.
So I don't know why they can't put pressure within for accountability to be productive and set aside self-defeating patterns.
And irrational hatred and overt racism against whites cannot exactly attract God's blessing in their communities either. (I once attended a community college graduation ceremony to cheer on a friend who was graduating. Looking for a seat, I walked by an older black woman who spit out a hateful comment, something truly vile against me. That level of spontaneous HATE against a white stranger is beyond shocking.)
There seems to be a lot of successful, rich black people who love to play victim. Joy Reid, Sonny Hostin, Don Lemon to name a few.
Very interesting. We are living in a strange time where so often, children are treated like adults whilst adults are coddled like children. It's created a lot of problems, as you know.
Very much so. The problem is getting worse and worse. I hope more people read my book and recognize the ills of turning children into miniature adults who feel responsible for adult problems.
You can do so much good by talking to young people. If you get another chance or chances, do it again. They are political because they're being taught (in some cases, indoctrinated) to be political at school. Share your viewpoint with them. It makes a difference more than you might think.
I'd do it again for another audience of kids if given the chance.
Rotary (RYLA - Rotary Youth Leadership Academy) is another good organization that gets speakers to talk to young people. Maybe there's one in your area. I think you and your story have a great deal to offer these kids.
Well handled! I'm thankful that the teacher had the good sense to provide an alternative voice to what these kids usually hear.
The challenge is that parents are whining and complaining about the government for their condition. Never in my 73 years has there been such mistrust of authority at every level of society. I often wonder who is fanning the flames.
I understand the girl that read a chapter and had to walk away!
Well done, Adam! Looking forward to reading your book!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it :)
Wow. What you did was really important. And kudos to the school that they let you speak freely. It is so sad that kids of that age are political, when they should be enjoying the only carefree portion of life: childhood. The experience stress because of this, and they can be manipulated because of that stress. It is like the breeding ground for the cultural revolution that happened in China. There is actual danger in having politicized, children, for so many reasons, but especially because they don’t have the reasoning skills to not allow their beliefs to vent in unhealthy emotional responses. Your response to George Floyd was especially well written and I really resonated with it. I hope that you do this more often, because you of all people have the credibility to speak in this space. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you for your reply. I completely agree with you.
I hope another opportunity presents itself in the future to speak to kids and adults.
I would love to see you in a sit down with James. I remember 4 years ago taking a long drive and listening to James review Herbert Marcuse's Repressive Tolerance essay. I needed a long boring drive to listen to something that sounded like a foreign language because Marxism is its own language. Thanks to him and so many other lecturers, some from the the late 80s and early 90s, who have helped me understand the theories.
James is a great guy and friend. He's way ahead of me when it comes to describing Marxism.
But that is why it would be such a useful interview. I knew zero about Marxism or Western philosophy. I liked Plato's Republic in college but I was truly ignorant. I somehow stumbled upon James and he provided the Rosetta Stone to understand the theories. I then went on to listen to many lectures on Western philosophy. So much of CRT is rooted in modern philosophy such as Rosseau. So I joke that the CRT people criticizing the philosophy of old dead white men is based on the philosophy of dead old white men. I now appreciate that a culture's philosophy is like a vessel that holds water. Some vessels are beautiful and enhance the water where other vessels are ugly and made with poisonous materials.