Comments on: Burdening our kids

By: Bernita

Bernita — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:02:59 +0000

YES!
I so strongly agree with you.
There’s some sort of syndrome of mild sadism involved in those who want to give children nightmares.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 02:27:54 +0000

Hi, John,

Thanks.

I don’t mind a bit that people have passionate beliefs on these issues. I’m glad they do — in some cases, as in the banning of CFCs, it seems likely that environmentalists’ positions were valid and the actions they advocated helped ward off a an imbalance that might otherwise have gotten out of control.

I just think we need to give kids a safe place to be kids. Granted, that’s not always possible — life imposes itself, sometimes in the form of death — but there’s something wrong, IMO, with purposedly scaring them when, like you say, it just doesn’t accomplish anything.

The dark underbelly of this phenom, of course, is that perhaps it does accomplish *something* — i.e. there’s an inherent temptation to recruit kids because it’s politically useful. If there’s anything more powerful than the image of a polar bear clinging piteously to a melting iceberg, it’s the image of a child imploring us to save the polar bear clinging piteously to a melting iceberg. I find it curious that the WaPo article could report on this without showing enough self-awareness to realize it was reporting on it. Cue (ironically delivered) Twilight Zone Music.

By: Duke of Earle

Duke of Earle — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:31:33 +0000

K: You’ve reminded me of a time roughly 50 years ago (and yes, I’m plenty old enough to remember those days). At that time the world was thought to be in a cooling stage, and there were mild fears that an ice age might be coming. But that’s not the point.

What I remember is the drills at school in which we students (elementary grade) practiced hiding under our desks to be shielded from flying debris and the horrid deadly radiation that would likely kill us all during the upcoming nuclear holocaust of WW III. I’m NOT kidding. This was during the Eisenhower and Kennedy presidencies.

Everybody loves to talk about (and worry about, and wring their hands about) whiat MIGHT happen. And the more horrific they can make it sound, the more gleefully they’ll tell it! But yes, telling little children that we’re all going to die, and the world is coming to an end…that really accomplishes a lot of good, doesn’t it?

You mention what is taught in the name of “biology,” but is there ANY branch of science that isn’t caught up in environmentalism, with a heavy emphasis on the sure disasters we’re headed for?

Disgusts me! (Well-writen post, btw.)

John