Kids These Days

Before we go any further, there is something you should know about me. I was one of those kids. The scary, weird kids that you try to keep an eye on, ’cause you know there is something wrong, but you don’t know what to do about it. The kids that you say are so intelligent, they could do anything they wanted to, if they would just apply themself. The quiet, sullen kids that you know are up to something, but you can’t ever manage to prove it. The ones you want to approach, but they just aren’t approachable, so you let it go, hoping some miracle will float down from the sky and change their view on the world, before they hurt themself or someone else. Those kids. Continue reading

Reclaiming Ownership

It is one of the greatest risks of living in a capitalistic society: where money is the presumed basis for happiness, each person grows up implanted with a susceptibility to marketing.

Humans have been trying to sell each other on their ideas since the beginning of time, and we have made an art form of the process in Western civilization. Children’s books ensure that we equate Cheerios with happy moments in Dad’s lap, and coloring books ensure we have an up close and personal experience with the crucifixion of Jesus. Formal political indoctrination may wait until we are older, yet most learn early on what our elders consider to be in line with their other moral marketing, and this is reinforced by the political dogma espoused in such “neutral” zones as church and school.

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